We'll Tell Them

I sat for a quiet moment today, just thinking about things. Babies asleep, sweet and peaceful.
I've wondered what to say, or share these days. Everyone seems quick to speak and share opinions. But as we stare this new disease in the face and the world seemingly closes in on itself...I don't care to be frivolous with words.

To be sure, this is an old enemy we're facing. Sure, the disease is new. But our enemy is not. He never is. So we don't have to be afraid. We know this enemy has been defeated. But it's up to us to obey the word of the Lord. We won't fear.
The Lord is not shocked by Coronavirus, or earthquakes, or fires, or floods, or anything else.
He doesn't fall off of His throne.

So as I sat quietly today, I thought about my kids. And someday, when they're older, we'll tell them about all this. They're innocent and unaware now, but someday we'll tell them about this. We'll tell them about the year the world changed. We'll tell them how it shifted us, and changed us. We'll tell them how our collective priorities changed. We'll tell them how our lives were altered in the course of a moment.
But most of all, we'll tell them about what the Lord did. We'll tell them about who He was in the midst. We'll tell them how He was faithful. We'll tell them how He sustained us. We'll tell them how He was near. We'll tell them how He was good. We'll tell them how He was kind. We'll tell them how He loved us. We'll tell them how He never changed, not even a little. We'll tell them about His peace, that truly passes all understanding.
We'll tell them how we leaned in closer than ever before, and we'll tell them how He led us.

And honestly, I can't wait. I can't wait to tell them about the world they grew up in. I can't wait to show them that our God is the God of then and now. The same, always. Every story in His word isn't just who He was, it's who He is NOW. I can't wait to tell them that He can be trusted, even when we don't understand.

Really, all I'm saying is, we're living in the times we're going to tell our children about.
So let's open our eyes wide, and ask the Lord to show us all the things we need to see.


We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders. 
Psalm 78:4

Spark

We don’t believe the lies 

We don’t let them in 

We won’t let fear beat us 

We know it loses in the end 

We won’t give up in the battle 

We have the fighter spark 

We won’t run away in the losses 

We don’t lose faith in the dark 

We’ll hold our ground steady 

We sing our victory song loud 

We follow the fire 

And hold firm for the cloud 

We’ll believe beyond reason 

Even with darkness covering 

We’ll hold onto Your goodness 

Even when nothing is all we’ve seen  

We’ve walked in the valley 

And through the deep of night 

We keep moving forward 

Because this is faith- not sight 

We may not know what’s next 

It’s not for us to see 

But we’ll trust You more than ever 

As You make us who were meant to be 

Drift Away

I see you drifting far away

Far from where we are 

I wonder why you drift away 

Headed for a different star 

I see you drifting far away 

There’s nothing to be done 

I’ll watch you as you drift away 

Until the light is gone 

I see you drifting far away 

As you sing a different song 

I still see you drifting far away 

Choices pulling you along 

I see you drifting far away 

As far as I can see  

You keep drifting far away  

Far away from me 

I see you drifting far away

No more tears to cry 

Forever drifting far away 

I’ll always wonder why 

I see you drifting far away 

What’s left is running dry 

You’re still drifting far away 

Into a different sky 

I see you drifting far away 

The end is coming now 

I wish you wouldn’t drift away 

I can’t stand to watch you drown

Drift away my little star

There’s nothing left to be 

Farewell, my little star

Someday come back home to me 

Frustration

My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.

Psalm 57:7

I’m so thankful for scripture. It’s a refuge in every season. It rights our perspective, comforts our hurts, shifts our attitude, humbles our pride, and brings us back to where we need to be: a submitted heart. 

IF we’ll let it. 

Today I found myself dealing with frustrations. Circumstances, people, you name it. 

So I went to the Word, and I went to prayer. Because, well, that’s all I know how to do. 

I simply told the Lord, “I’m frustrated. And I don’t know what to do.” 

And as I just stood in silence for a few moments I felt the Lord remind me that the biggest frustration I’m dealing with is ME. 

My own expectations. I want MY way. I know best. I have the answers. 

This is the real problem. Not the other people. 

I felt the Lord remind me to just be faithful. To serve. To do so with JOY. 
Because this is what the Lord is presenting me with. 

He’s not extending me the opportunity to have my way or fix the problems. 

The opportunity he’s giving me is to faithfully serve, with joy. That’s it. 

It's actually a simple thing. And I'm always reminded of 2 Kings, where Naaman is told to go wash in the river and he almost refuses until his servant says "If the prophet had told you a difficult thing, wouldn't you have done it?" 

Why do we always reject the simple thing? 
But I digress.

You know what happened next? 

All the frustration disappeared. 

It’s not that it won’t come back. It will. But then I can CHOOSE to be self-disciplined. I can CHOOSE not to be frustrated. I can CHOOSE to joyfully fulfill my assignment in this season: EVEN IF IT’S NOT THE ONE I WANT. 

It really is a choice. 

Is it easy? No. 

Fun? Not always. 

Does it bring accolades or spotlights? No. 

But that's not what we're here for. We're here to serve.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all." 
Mark 9:35

Idols

Why do they matter? What are they? We’re not too familiar with this idea anymore. We tend to think that idols are something passed away, from a long time ago. Not too many of us are out in the backyard constructing some sort of golden calf, as it were. 

Is this still relevant? 

I think the answer is emphatically, YES. 

It’s true, we’re not out building statues of wood or metal to pray to. 

But often do we devote ourselves to something other than Christ? 

Devotion is a confusing word. We don’t really put anything we do in the same category as Christ. But don’t we let so many other things shape how we think?
How we think about life, how we think about others, how we think about ourselves? Doesn’t our thought process drive our actions? 

We think or we feel something, and then most often, we do something based on that thought. 

Let’s think about a tangible example: 

We think “I’m fat.” Or often, more accurately, we feel “fat” and then thought and feeling drives us to an action. And of course, we all react differently. Maybe your reaction is to eat more, eat more unhealthy things, and spiral into an emotional eating habit. 

Or maybe your reaction is to go the other way. Instead you begin to discipline yourself in the name of getting healthy. You work out a lot. You don’t eat anything “bad.” You feel guilty when you do. So you get more strict. Maybe you stop eating some meals altogether. In the name of “health.” 

There are many examples, and other avenues this can take. But ultimately, we’re letting something have a throne in our lives other than Christ. 

Why does it matter, you might ask? 

Psalm 115:2-8 (emphasis added) 

Why do they nations say, 

“where is their God?”

Our God is in heaven,

he does whatever pleases him.

But their idols are silver and gold,

made by human hands.

They have ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but cannot smell.

They have hands, but cannot feel, 

feet, but cannot walk,

nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Those who make them will be like them, 

and so will all who trust in them. 

The biggest reason this matters, is we become like the idols we allow in our lives. We stop hearing. We stop feeling. Our perception is interrupted by a new perception that we think is truth, and in reality, it’s a lie. 

I don't know about you, but I don't want anything to take the place of Christ in my life. I definitely don't want to have ears and not hear, hands and not feel because of my own choices. 

This is why we need trustworthy friends. That person we let say the hard things; the things that sting. We need that friend who knows what we’re capable of and encourages us to not live like we’re anything less.
I think it’s interesting that a popular topic these days is accountability. We’re in a generation that rejects accountability on the “don’t judge me” concept. Accountability isn’t judgement. Accountability says “there’s more in you, there’s better in you than this.” It’s a call and helping hand to propel you to the greatness that’s in you. Accountability isn’t “wow, look at all the terrible things you did”, accountability is “wow, look at the amazing things you are made to do.” If you don’t have that in your life, you are truly missing out.

Obviously, these are two separate topics, but not really. Because good accountability will alert me to an idol in my life. If I can just be humble and hear them out, instead of immediately justifying and getting defensive.
If I can have ears to hear, accountability might save me from the idol I’m building. 

Prison

I keep thinking about Paul. So many critical moments and teachings came from the prison. 

Yet he had joy. He was full of joy actually. He had peace. He was content. 

Sadly, I find myself completely dissatisfied in my own life when I’m not where I want to be. 

What if the prison is where we’re called to be? What if we never leave it? Will I be content? Full of joy? Peace? Sometimes the prison doesn’t have bars or walls. Sometimes it’s a season of life. We want it to be over, but it lingers on. 

I find myself relating to Paul. Don’t worry, I’m not that arrogant; I know I’m not in chains for the gospel. But the place I’m in seems very disconnected. Isolated. Out of touch. I feel like I’m out of the game. On the sidelines where no one even remembers I used to play. As a person of action, this is tough. I’m an all or nothing person, and when it comes to Jesus, it’s ALL. 

But here I sit on the bench, longing to get back in the game and do something useful again. 

But I look at Paul. Not once do I get the impression that he felt like he was out of the game. If anything, he rejoiced that he was in the will of God. He never counted himself out. How? What is this perspective?

I know that where I am is where I’m supposed to be. It’s time to quiet the questions. Because if I never leave the prison, I don’t want it to change a thing. That no matter what happens, I conduct myself worthy of the gospel of Christ. 

Paul never gave up. He never despaired. What if he wasted time comparing himself to others outside the prison? What a different story he would have told if he had. There’s a reason Paul was chosen for the prison. It couldn’t have been just anyone. What an honor. I want to live that way. I want the Lord to entrust difficult things to me. Not because I’m so awesome, but because I’m faithful. Because I’m a good steward. Can he trust me with the prison? Even if I never leave it? Lord, help me, I hope so. 

I just want to be faithful where he’s called me. One day at a time. I want to rejoice. I want to be full of joy. That every cell mate would see Jesus in me. Not despair. Not hopelessness. Not defeat. Not frustration. Just Jesus. 

And really, this is who we’re supposed to be. As believers, hope is our thing. Joy is our thing. Peace is our thing. We’re not like those who don’t know and are tossed around by everything that comes their way. No matter what we face, we have the option to choose joy. To choose hope. To choose peace. To choose to be content. It’s up to us. 

So here I sit on the sidelines. Patiently. Joyfully. Gratefully. Thankfully. Content to be here. 
And believing that even here, I’ll live to the fullest every moment the Lord gives me. 

Tension

When I look around these days, I see a lot of tension. Everywhere. There is no place that seems to lack for it. There are conflicting voices and opinions flying around faster than we can keep up, quite frankly.

We all seem to be in a race to have the loudest opinion, the best argument, the quickest shut down, the wittiest retort, you name it.

Overall, we seem quite keen to make others feel foolish, and regret sharing their opinion at all. We’re masters at the art of ostracizing, even if it’s people we used to respect or care for. It little matters now.

That wouldn’t be so troubling to me, if believers weren’t as quick to jump into the fray as everyone else.

I know, we all want to share Truth in these times where truth has becoming purely subjective.

In some regard, I don’t disagree. I think there should be a voice for Truth, especially now when the world has traded Truth for lies. I think there are some moral issues in our day that are impossible to stay silent about.

Personally, the madness we’re currently seeing in our world makes me want to address every lie with a megaphone, if we’re being honest. But I have to realize that as we move closer to the end of things, it’s only going to get more insane. More backwards. Filled with even more lies.

But here’s what’s so concerning to me, fellow Jesus-followers.

We don’t need to share opinions for opinion’s sake.

If we put our voice into the mix, and it is utterly devoid of Christ, what good is it?

Just another opinion? Another argument to be had? To what end? Will someone come to know Jesus through your argument? Will someone feel loved, cared for, or heard? Will someone see that there is real hope?

I’m afraid not.

Romans 2:4* talks about how it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.

Here’s a simple thought: If we are not kind, how will anyone ever believe that He is??

1 Corinthians 13:1** says that without love in our speech, we’re nothing more than a lot of noise.

Now I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

If there is no love in our speech, it’s just an obnoxious sound that no one will listen to.

I find myself increasingly concerned that in this era of tension and constant information we believers are getting swept along with it. We’re getting sucked into needing to shout our opinions along with everyone else, in the name of truth. Maybe we're worried that we need to do something, so anything is better than nothing. 

But we can’t do it like everyone else. We can be unyielding in our commitment to the Word of God, and still be kind. Again, why will anyone care about a God who loves them if we who represent him are unkind, unloving and just plain ugly?

We’re made to live in the tension and not be overcome by it. We can do this. 

All I know is that the tension isn’t going to go away. If anything, it’s getting worse. 

So we have to be aware. We can’t be flesh people anymore, we have to be spirit people, and live like it.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.***

As scripture says, against such things there is no law.

*Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Romans 2:4 

**If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1 

***But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23