Category Archives: God is Enough

The Simple Lifestyle

Posted on by

We have been carefully avoiding concrete measurements and formulas, in our discussions of simplicity, mostly because we do not want to obscure the very real internal issues at stake. It would be far too easy to get distracted by controversial details and completely misunderstand what practicing simplicity means in our lives. Not to mention that coming up with one visible standard to lay across all our backs (to make sure we are measuring up) is nothing more than forging chains of man-made expectations; Jesus warned us about our hypocritical tendency to tie other people up into tidy bundles.

So let’s revisit the truths we’ve been distilling, drop by drop, gaze into that quiet pool of clear water and breathe deep, let it sink in where the Holy Spirit can make His own connections to life. Simplicity is trusting God for life itself. It is total dependence on His provision and the resulting freedom from anxiety and fear. It is a focus of heart and mind and life on the “pearl of great price” that we Christ-followers have discovered in the Kingdom of Heaven, seeing everything else falling into new perspectives because of that focus.

And let’s not overlook the fact that at some point these truths are going to have to push their way into the Everyday, both in large and small ways. Perhaps even in some startling life-upheaval ways. Otherwise simplicity is just one more nice idea. But that is between your heart and God’s Spirit. We are babes at this, so we stand and lurch forward a few steps, maybe even take off at a tip-toe run across new wide open spaces, only to lose our balance and fall flat a moment later. It’s all in a day’s growth. He will show us where we need to change, and how much is enough. That’s why we use the phrase spiritual practice or spiritual discipline (training) when we talk about learning these new habits.

It is perhaps encouraging to remember that this does not come naturally to us– mistrust comes naturally…wanting to control my own world comes naturally…following my emotions comes naturally. These are the old-way habits I am trying to unlearn. Only the Spirit of God living in me can open my eyes to how beautiful a simple dependence on my Creator can be. It takes His divine power at work in my heart to shift my viewpoint to realize how unnecessarily I complicate my life with worries, how I get tangled up with rationalization and desire for others’ approval and wanting things. Only Jesus’ grace will cover the mistakes I make and give me the courage to try again. And His strong arms will guide me and protect me as I go on.

So when we slide back into old ways we will get back up on our feet, with the Spirit’s help, and follow after Jesus with our baby steps, and keep on putting these truths into practice, until someday we can look back and see how far we have come, just like any child growing up under a parent’s loving watchful care. The important thing is that we practice this new habit of simplicity over and over again, knowing it is for our own spiritual health…keep listening and obeying. Life is much simpler when we do.

~~~~~~~

“Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
(Jesus in Matthew 11:29-30, The Message)

~~~~~~~

“At every moment,God’s Will produces what is needful for the task at hand, and the simple soul, instructed by faith, finds everything as it should be and wants neither more nor less than whatever it has.” (Jean-Pierre de Caussade)

It’s Simple, Really

Posted on by

Things get complicated as soon as we start talking about simplifying. Bring up the very idea of simplicity in life and people start looking for formulas and measuring sticks. We want to know how much we have to give up and still be able to claim the label of simplicity…or maybe, more accurately, how much we can hang onto. And are we talking just about quantity or are we addressing quality as well? Because maybe we could just downsize with a big yard sale, or start shopping at the Dollar Store. And do we really need to apply this to our calendars and being able to say no? (Now everyone’s feeling quite nervous, because isn’t our love measured by how much we are willing to do for our families?) It doesn’t even help to put simplicity in terms of an attitude or perspective. It’s just too foreign a concept for most of us twenty-first century consumers to wrap our heads around– and yet it is something we long for, on some level, so what are we missing, here? Maybe in our looking for answers we are making it more complicated than it really is.

The very freedom and abundance we prize has saddled us with complexity. If you have found yourself standing in the hair care aisle looking for the right product, you understand the difficulty, here. To most of us freedom means options…and options mean choices…and choices mean time and comparisons and evaluation. Abundance ensures freedom. All of which keeps us focused on what we want and the means to getting what we want, which tends to be a time-consuming business.

But what if we have it all backwards? What if all the judicious comparing of products and value and quality that makes us feel well-informed and in control are actually symptoms of lives thrown wildly off-balance? What if true freedom means ignoring all the distracting options to get to what matters most, so you can make the best choices? What if we are not even meant to be consumers, but beloved children instead? What if we are working hard to make our own lives very complicated and stressful, when all along we were meant to find our purpose in peace and simplicity?

Jesus implied as much when He warned His followers, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24) Trying to hang onto too many different things brings only conflict and turmoil– apparently we only have room for one thing at the center of our hearts. So simplicity is not about how much you have, or how much money you make, or even about how busy you are. It’s about what drives you, what you are focusing on– or to enter into Jesus’ word picture, who we are devoted to. Big-Brother James says clearly that God wants that heart’s focus to be on Himself and Him alone: “God is passionate that the spirit He has placed within us should be faithful to Him.” (James 4:5) Simplicity is trusting in God alone because I have learned that there is no one else like Him, and nothing else that can satisfy. It is total dependence on Him that results in thankfulness for all the ways He provides for me. Lose that focus, and life gets complicated very quickly with all sorts of worries, and fears, and wants, and things we try to hold onto.

Simply put, the more single your focus, the more simple your life is. Repeatedly James urges us to see the benefits: “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8) So here we are, back to talking about desiring the Kingdom of God first and more than anything else in life. When your heart has that single purpose, everything else begins to fall into perspective and serve that heart’s desire. Not simple in the sense of easy (these are new spiritual habits we are building, after all) but a simple perspective and uncomplicated results. I have a feeling it is what we have been longing for all along.

~~~~~~~

“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength….'” (Isaiah 30:15)

~~~~~~~

“Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” (Augustine, Confessions (Book 1)

Wise Words for Winds of Change

Posted on by

“Do you have any words of wisdom?” she asked earnestly across the table. And truly, I had none. Or at least none that sounded sage enough to offer to someone I barely knew. Because in my experience there is no way to fix what she was going through, no best solution that makes it bearable. There’s only getting up every day and choosing to be thankful, choosing to set your heart and mind on God and what He wants. There’s only making the right decisions one day at a time and leaning hard on Jesus with all your wild emotions, trusting that He loves you and is working out good for you. Truly, that is all there is, and some days it feels like precious little. I managed to mumble something in the moment, but mostly what I felt was embarrassment at having no profound and encouraging words polished up and ready to go.

As I sit here almost a week later, it is sinking in that this is all any of us have, when we are facing grief or change. There is no shortcut to the other side of loss. Feelings simply must have their space, and words must be said, and you just have to face each rising difficulty as it comes. Might as well square yourself to meet it head on and push through, because the circumstances themselves won’t go away. But we are not alone in our chaos and storm, and maybe that is enough. Because this I know from experience also, that Jesus stands beside, whether we can see Him or not, and you can hear Him whispering in the dark, “Come to Me… and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:29) In the midst of any upheaval, we can prove the Musician-King’s words to be true for ourselves: “For You are my rock and my fortress; and for Your name’s sake You lead me and guide me…” (Psalm  31:3) It is ordinary one-day-at-a-time perseverance, and it is extraordinary mercy that holds you, until one day you find that the loss doesn’t cut quite so deep, and hope is springing up unexpectedly.

“It doesn’t sound like much to offer as “words of wisdom,” but I wish I could tell her that she is not alone, and that truly is enough.

~~~~~~~

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:1-2)

~~~~~~~

“I have heard You calling my name
I have heard the song of love that You sing
So I will let You draw me out beyond the shore
Into Your grace… Your grace.”
(You Make Me Brave, Bethel Music)

Three Cheers for the Tortoise

Posted on by

I have always thought perseverance is the boring virtue. I mean, let’s face it: love is beautiful…gentleness has a soft warm glow to it…integrity is noble and strong…even patience has a certain sense of satisfaction to it. But perseverance is just ordinary. Keeping on with the everyday of what you’ve been given, and then doing it all again tomorrow. Even when it’s hard. Even when no one notices. Even when it’s not where you want to be.  Perseverance is a slow steady progress that is easy to disparage. It’s like in Aesop’s old story about the tortoise and the hare, where the fast hare is so confident in his abilities to win that he doesn’t even take the race seriously.

And really, who wants to be like the tortoise in the story? No one wants to keep plodding along slow and steady when there are others out there flashing by, to the cheers of the crowd. (And wouldn’t we all rather have life come easily, with plenty of time to play in the meadow and take naps?) Sure, the tortoise won the race, but it wasn’t even through any skill or cleverness or strength on his part. All he had to do was keep on going. Anyone could have beaten the hare with that kind of mindset. But of course that is precisely the point. Visible skill means nothing if it makes you careless. Confidence and charm are pointless if you are going to quit running in favor of indulging yourself, before you hit the finish line. In the long run the character quality of perseverance may matter more than buckets of talent and ability, and not just in results. God says it’s actually a matter of who you are becoming on the inside.

Specifically, God says dull old perseverance is a building block of our character. When life gets tough and we find that things don’t come naturally to us, we get to choose whether to run away or to face the pain and let Him use it to grow us. The Apostle Paul drew a straight line to connect our hard times and strength of character, encouraged the young believers this way: “…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4) It is that nitty-gritty virtue of perseverance that makes the difference. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5) Perseverance is the holding-on strength that takes us from the growing to the good set before us. And it comes by the Holy Spirit at work in us with His power, just like all the other virtues. I need the help, because my own determination wears out after awhile, especially when life gets difficult and complicated.

Perseverance is what makes you give grace to that person and try to communicate better, to work together, instead of walking away….even though your heart is hurting. Because healthy relationships matter.

Perseverance makes you clean up one more mess….drag yourself out of bed one more time….listen to one more story of playground drama… when what you really want is just eight solid hours of sleep, or a quiet cup of coffee on the porch. Because you know they are worth it.

Perseverance is what keeps you praying long and hard until you have God’s answer. No matter how long it takes. Because you trust His love and His power and His timing.

Perseverance pushes you to face another day of the same old thing: of errands and phone calls and workday and chores that will need to be done again tomorrow. Because these hidden acts of service laid down with love and prayer are building a home and nurturing lives that will last beyond this world.

I guess the older I get, the more I value the simple virtue of slow and steady progress. Perseverance is about focus and determination– being willing to make many small right choices over and over, because you have your eyes out ahead on a bigger goal. It’s having faith that all those smaller, more boring choices are adding up to something wonderful just because God says so. It is simple obedience in the everyday, according to Paul: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17) Hang in there and keep on going– as old Aesop the storyteller said, “slow and steady wins the race.” And this Faith-race above all, is worth winning.

~~~~~~

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8)

Forward

Posted on by

Just this sweet reminder from the pen of Amy Carmichael– over a century old, but so very comforting to us at the beginning of a new year:

“Thou knewest me before I was;
I am all open unto Thee;
And yet Thou lovest me, because–
Thou, my Lord, lovest me.

I may not fear, for to the end
Thou lovest. Who save only Thee,
The sinner’s Saviour and his Friend,
Would set his love on me?

And on Thee now my heart is set;
Thy name is music unto me.
O help me never to forget
That I am loved by Thee.”

Amen and let us walk boldly on, into whatever may come.

Measuring Faith

Posted on by

Faith is an intangible tricky business– hard to measure and to muster. If faith is the currency of the spiritual realms, then we consumers want enough to live comfortably.  But there is no clear formula on how to make it all work, and sometimes it feels like a mysterious puzzle to solve. Apparently, faith the size of a mustard seed is sufficient, which is good news, but how do we go about using it to move mountains?

And the size of the seed isn’t even really the point of Jesus’ metaphor. When He told His followers that their unbelief was hindering them from casting out demons, the word means “want of confidence in Christ’s power.” All they needed was a sliver of reliance on Him, a tender shoot of hope, a reaching up in anticipation for what He might do. Because here’s the thing: when we reach out to Him with the little we have, in trust that He can do enough for the situation, amazing things tend to happen.  Thousands have a picnic on the grass from one little boy’s lunch. When a woman offers God’s prophet the very last of what she has, her little jar of oil has enough to make daily bread for two years. And Jesus said that “Nothing would be impossible” (Matthew 17:20) in our lives if we offer up our small faith for Him to use as He sees fit. It’s our humble dependence on His sufficiency, and the active willing obedience in the little seed that Jesus is pointing at.

Jesus talked about a mustard seed in another setting as well, and again, we would not want to stop at the observation of the seed’s size. He says, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:30-32) Jesus’ kingdom may have started in one believing heart, but it has grown to every corner of the earth and will continue to increase until His return, because “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11) When God’s overarching plans are at work, our small bit of faith is just one cog in the wheel– our vote of confidence that says count me in.

And that kind of faith is what works, though not at all the way we expected when we first started hunting for answers. It has little to do with getting the things we desire. More accurately, it is desiring God and His glory more than anything else– so that what we get is sufficient, if He is there. It’s trust in Who God is: that He is good, that He loves me, that He is enough for me. It’s trust that can hand over whatever we have, and know He will bless it and make good use of it to benefit others. It’s trust that steps out in obedience to whatever God is asking of me today. And no thing is too small and ordinary, or too big and difficult for this kind of faith, though all it be is the size of a mustard seed.

~~~~~~~

“Dear friends….Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

~~~~~~~

“For it is not true that a slight and feeble faith does suffice….Only a faith which is a living and a growing power, like the mustard seed in the soil, will triumph over the difficulties to be met and mastered….It will uproot great evil in God’s Name and strength….It will upraise noble structures of good, when inspired at the same source.” (W. Clarkson)

Faith and Flour Bins

Posted on by

Wrestling with faith these past couple weeks, looking at our slippery trend toward Self-reliance and feeling hard all the ways mistrust gets in the way of knowing God is Enough. When God starts pointing at the same truths different places in the Scriptures, and small groups begin to intersect, discussing the same issues in many different contexts, I can’t think it is pure coincidence. It is almost like a spiritual spotlight: pay attention, there is something to learn here.

Someone pointed out last week that when God meets the tangible need we feel most strongly, it is easy to land there, and maybe miss the deeper point He wants to make. Like in the narrative from ancient Zarephath, a village by the sea growing desperate for water, when daily bread seemed a big-enough miracle of life for a starving widow and her son. How could she predict that God wanted to raise that boy from the dead in her own home, to prove Himself Lord over Life and Death? When she accepted the prophet Elijah into her home for the sake of a bottomless flour bin, did she ever think that someday she would be saying, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth”? (1 Kings 17:24) I wonder how often my answered prayer is only the beginning; while I am ready to close the doors, check this lesson off the list and start celebrating, His Spirit is merely laying the groundwork of faith, preparing to shake the house down around my ears and stretch me in ways I never dreamed. It makes me think that the problem is not so much with my faith as it is with my image of God.

Maybe when I limit God to what I can understand or accept, I am also limiting the size of the faith I can have. A self-crippling act of short-sighted Self-sufficiency, defining God in terms of what I see and know. But if I have cut my view of God down to manageable human proportions, then what else is left but human-sized strength to face the complex unpredictablitiy of the world we live in? No wonder Self gets so wrung-out, trying to be enough to handle everything that concerns me. I see how the opposite works itself out, too– that the more I learn of His greatness and power, the sturdier my faith becomes. The more I practice putting the weight of everyday experience on the leg of what I believe, the larger my expectations grow. Elijah’s response to the widow’s unexpected tragedy was to carry the problem bodily before God and implore Him to intervene, never mind that no one had ever raised the dead before, or even thought of it, as far as we can tell. After shutting up the rain and being fed by scavenger birds and desperate widows for months, maybe redefining the impossible was becoming rather second-nature to the prophet who lived in the presence of the Lord.

(Interesting how the bigger and more accurate my view of God, the more my view of Self adjusts to more realistic proportions, as well. Dependency on the Creator is the only right and sensible response of the created, after all.)

It’s definitely not a straight line of progress in my own life, though…more like round and round in well-worn tracks through the underbrush, like a beagle hunting up a rabbit. But He promises, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) So I will keep practicing this dependent faith, and holding onto His promises, and let Him shake down the walls I have built, watch His light pour in more and more.

~~~~~~~

“You open Your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.” (Psalm 145:16-18)

~~~~~~~

“I have made You too small in my eyes–
Oh Lord, forgive me.
And I have believed in a lie
That You are unable to help me.
But now, Oh Lord, I see my wrong;
Heal my heart and show Yourself strong,
And in my eyes and with my song,
Oh Lord, be magnified.”
(Be Magnified, Fred Hammond)

Getting At the Heart of The Matter

Posted on by

Talking this week about something Oswald Chambers pointed out, how the sin nature is not so much about our doing wicked things, as it is about Self-sufficiency. He said that allowing Self to control and shape my world can either drive me to chaos and sin or it can drive me to a standard of doing good.  Two very different outcomes from the same root. And regardless of which way it falls– how it looks on the outside and whether others approve or not– it’s what is underneath that matters in the end. The Wise King Solomon warned us about that very thing: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

See, we get quite distracted by what we can observe and evaluate on the outside, and it is too easy to substitute what we can do, for what we need God to do. That’s how good people can be seduced by their own capabilities and never realize just how hollow it all is. We can soak in the songs and the sermons, and enjoy the people of God, and then go live the days in our planners. Maybe ask for a prayer or two when we hit a rough patch. Or kick it up a notch and get involved in ministry, even– it is the right thing to do, after all, and we feel good about helping others. This approach works a good bit of the time from a practical standpoint. In the meantime only God can tell that we are living on our own strength. He can see how we need it to work out, because our own self-image is at stake; and how the further it goes, the more afraid we are of losing what we are building.

Till the storm crashes in and what we can do is no longer enough…or circumstances take us somewhere we never intended to be…any time God bumps up against our preconceived ideas of what He is like and what He intends to do. The older brother in Jesus’ parable never dreamed that it was his own attitude that would bear examining, when the prodigal returned home seeking forgiveness. Mind you, God will do everything He needs, to shake you to the core and bring you face-to-face with the darkness lurking there; Chambers calls it “the discipline of dismay.” There is a built-in rejection of the Lover of our Souls in all of us– in some it is an outright defiance, and in some, it is a quiet desire to “do it myself.” Either way, it is the root problem that needs to be dealt with.

When God refuses to be neatly boxed and tagged, what is our response? Do we sulk and storm and feel like He has let us down? Or can we work through the disappointment and doubt on our knees, in order to find out what He is doing and what He wants of us here? Like Erwin Lutzer says: “It does little good for us to object to what He chooses to do. When He said to Moses, ‘I AM that I AM’ He in effect said ‘I am who I am and not Who you would prefer Me to be’. “

And when Self finally gives up trying to control this corner of the world, maybe I will see that it was never mine to rule…and discover that God is far more than I could ever want or need. He is the only everlasting foundation to build a life on, and only the things rooted in Him will be balanced and whole. The Church-Planter gets downright cranky about the thought of us living any other way: “How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing?” (Galatians 3:3-4)

Guess it’s the kind of lesson we need to learn over and over. And maybe this too is God’s severe mercy, that will never let us be satisfied with less than Himself.

~~~~~~~

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Job 13:15

~~~~~~~

“Cause all I know is
Everything I have means nothing
Jesus if You’re not my one thing
Everything I need right now
All I need is You right now
Just one thing I ask and this
I will seek If only to know You
To be where You are and go where You lead
My God I will follow.”
(One Thing, Hillsong)

Feeling The Need

Posted on by

So I am really trying to live in the Truth that God is enough, this week. When the needs are real and the resources fall short, no matter how I try to rearrange them, I am praying for God’s supply and trusting that it will come. Honestly I am, and I have been telling people that He will provide, so as to be held accountable for my faith…even though part of me whispers that it would be safer not to make that public, just in case. It’s sad how unbelief clings to the soul like the cobweb remains of the grave. But I keep brushing it free and try standing in the light of what I know.

And as the week wears on, I am starting to feel like Elijah hiding out in the middle of nowhere by the brook Kerith, watching it dry up bit by bit and wondering if the scavenger birds will bring him anything today, and when this experiment will end.* What can you expect of wild birds, after all? And how much is too much to expect from God’s hand, when you don’t even know what is His end-game? If it were up to me, I would fill this need right now and move on with the plan, so clearly our goals are not the same here. (Times like this remind you just how far outside of Creation He is…something Other.) I’m trying to trust that His goals are the important ones.

So despite tossing at night and a growing weight of dread, I am holding on with both hands  to Who He Is and what He has promised, even while my brain sorts through ideas and options and keeps coming up blank. Like the ravens’ gifts, His provision will be just what is needed for this day, at the correct time. I keep reminding myself and others that He has met our needs countless times before, and often at the last minute. What I need is eyes to recognize it when it comes, and the patience to wait. I’m getting better. Maybe someday I can even do it very peacefully.

 

*Read Elijah’s story in 1 Kings 17.

~~~~~~~

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

~~~~~~~

“‘Who so hearkeneth unto me,’ He says, ‘shall dwell safely; and shall be quiet from fear of evil.’ And this is a statement that no one dare question. If we would really hearken unto God, which means not only hearing Him, but believing what we hear, we could not fail to know that, just because He is God, He cannot do other than care for us as He cares for the apple of His eye; and that all that tender love and divine wisdom can do for our welfare, must be and will be unfailingly done. Not a single loophole for worry or fear is left to the soul that knows God.” (The God of All Comfort, Hannah Whitall Smith)

Of Sheep and Spotlights and Familiar Songs

Posted on by

The familiar words of Psalm 23 continue to wind through my heart this week, but with a glimmer of something that I am just beginning to understand. It’s as if the comforting phrases are overlaid with the question “But do you really live that way?” I see that if I claim “The Lord is my Shepherd,” then it should probably change the way I face the circumstances of this day. I have a feeling that this Psalm will probably be more than a familiar recitation from now on. If I say “I lack nothing” and believe He is all-sufficient for me, maybe I should accept that what He gives me in the moment is enough, without worrying or complaining. Can I see in the ups and downs of my days that “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul”? Do I truly believe this, as God’s Word to me?– or am I just appreciating the picturesque poetry and approving of its content?

It’s fairly obvious that the best way to show my faith is to live it– to place the full weight of my hopes and actions on the Truth of God’s Word and Who He Is– otherwise it’s just hollow words. But so often there is this disconnect between what I believe and what I experience. I guess many of us are good at talking about what we believe, and many of us believe good things….but if we do not put enough stock in our beliefs to live them out, they are not really ours at all, are they? Un-tried beliefs are certainly not in a position to prove themselves to us (or to others) as trustworthy. It’s like Big Brother James says, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:23-24) See a facial crisis and just walk away and forget about it?…Ha! Sheer craziness from a woman’s perspective. Yet here I am, able to recite Psalm 23 with barely a thought to what I am declaring about my relationship with the Good Shepherd.

The only way to prove what I really believe is to act on it, and where those laudable declarations and good principles enter the dust and noise of everyday life they take on shape, substance that can make a difference in this world– the Truth becoming flesh once again. But of course, this is where things get difficult, because it is unexpectedly painful to submit emotions to faith, to fix my eyes on Jesus’ plans instead of on circumstances, to bend my will and perspectives to His ways. It is not an accident that Paul’s words evoke the taming of wild horses when he says “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) Obedience is the hardest thing I will ever do in this world. (Paul says it is warfare that will be the death of Me, so why would it be easy?) The good news is that the smallest step forward is worth celebrating, and every step counts toward the final goal. And every time the Holy Spirit brings words of Scripture to light– spotlights it so you can’t miss it and burrows it into your heart so you can’t forget it– the really sensible thing to do is pay attention and obey, start putting it into practice, one small step at a time.

Looking at the Shepherd’s Psalm with an eye to obedience makes me see how much God values my complete and peaceful trust. The sheep does not fear or stress about anything in its world, large or small, because he rests in the Shepherd’s provision of all things. It reminds me of the words Amy Carmichael wrote: “…we trust all that the love of God does– all He gives and all He does not give, all He says and all He does not say. To it all we say, by His loving enabling, ‘I trust.’ Let us be content with our Lord’s will, and tell Him so, and not disappoint Him by wishing for anything He does not give. The more we understand His love, the more we trust.” Now this is a sheep who knows and trusts her Shepherd.

 Amy’s life is inspiring– she is one of those women whose faith shines just ahead in the Race and beckons other women to follow. As a single young woman, she left her home in Ireland to be trained by China Inland Mission for missions work; despite her frail health, which often left her weak and in pain for weeks on end, she eventually came to India where she spent the rest of her life showing God’s love in the most tangible forms to the helpless and cast-aside. Many of her later years were spent bed-ridden, but from her room she continued to write down what she was learning from the Good Shepherd, as a way to encourage the staff at her Dohnavur mission and orphanage, which cared for the children and women they rescued from temple prostitution and slavery. Hers were lessons learned in countless small ways, again and again, in the course of ordinary days and extraordinary difficulties, loneliness, and illness, till we can look back at her life and call it remarkable. At one point, she wrote, “Sometimes when we read the words of those who have been more than conquerors, we feel almost despondent. ‘I shall never be like that,’ we feel. But they won through, step by step– by little acts of will, little denials of self, little inward victories; by faithfulness in very little things, they became what they are. No one sees these little hidden steps; they only see the accomplishment; but even so, those small steps were taken. There is no sudden triumph, no spiritual maturity that is the work of a moment. So let us take courage….”

Take courage indeed, beloved sheep, and do not hesitate to act on what Jesus tells us, because we can trust in our Shepherd’s care. Step into the Spirit’s light, and prove it.

~~~~~~~

“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus name.
Christ alone, Cornerstone–
Weak made strong in the Saviour’s love;
Through the storm, He is Lord…
Lord of all.”
(Cornerstone, Hillsong)

~~~~~~~

“He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:3-4)