THOUGHTS & MUSINGS
May 17, 2021
Some seasons in our lives are particularly busy, full of activites and obligations. I enjoy the events, meetings and services that are a part of my life. Until. Until I find I feel disconnected and on the edge of frantic. This statement has been nudging my soul for weeks now: Not every opportunity to do good things - even good things for God - is an opportunity sent by God.
It takes some stillness and intention to sort through out commitments to see what ones may be good, even important, but not from God. There is an invitation in our busyness, to pause, to "step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God..." (Psalm 46:10 MSG)
The "traffic" is not meant to control us, but often we are overrun in a tide of acitivity so strong we believe we cannot stop it. Soon we feel swept away from our closest relationships and even more distant from God.
I invite your to step away. Look away from your schedule, your obligations. As much as we like to think we can hear from God "on the run," He waits for us to seek Him in a time and place where we can really listen to His voice.
July 20, 2021
I love hydrangeas. They are my favorite flower. From one bush, bought many years ago, I propagated many more and planted them under my bedroom window on the north side of my home. Hydrangeas love shade and they prospered, covering the walk that runs along side of them. They grew upward, too. And while I thought it was fun to open my window and cut a few gorgeous blue blossoms, I recognized that soon my bedroom view would be gone.
It’s a tricky thing to prune hydrangeas. Next year’s blossoms are “set” as new growth begins to appear and the blooms of this summer are almost spent. A couple weeks ago we pruned them to about half of their size. It was painful to see my beautiful bushes trimmed down to empty “sticks.” As the excess as trimmed away, I began to see that there were many dead limbs inside the plant that had been hidden by the prolific foliage and blossoms. So, I poked and prodded, trying to determine which branches were really dead. There was a lot. And, oh, they looked so sad. Pathetic, really.
Now, just 2 weeks later, we can see new growth, precious little leaves emerging from what looked like the end of my beautiful bushes. New growth with the promise of things to come. Time will tell if we trimmed too late. We won’t know until next May if there will be blossoms or if we might have to wait another year. But when they appear, they will be beautiful and worth waiting for.
Sometimes we feel God is prompting us to cooperate with His pruning in our souls. Maybe a commitment has run its course and feels mostly like obligation or a friendship has become constantly depleting. Endings are difficult, especially for those of us who take pride in our fierce determination to let nothing end nor fall between the cracks.
There might be some deadness inside that we haven’t noticed that prevents us from sensing God’s work within us. When all the outer beauty is trimmed back, we see ourselves as we really are. And it’s not always pretty.
But pruning brings room – and margin – for new growth.
What is it that you need to let go of to give space for God to begin new growth in you?
Recently an article I wrote 20 years ago reappeared in Guideposts as a "Guideposts Classic." Click on the picture on the left for a link to that article from Guideposts April 2021.
February 11, 2023
I came across this looking through some files. I wrote it a very long time ago after a series of difficult "storms." It is still true..sometimes it takes a storm..
When the Next Storm Comes
When the next storm comes
I will neither retreat nor recoil.
nor I will not be backed into the corner
where fear lies in wait.
I will turn
more quickly
than before
to His Word.
I will read and read again,
“Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall…”[1]
and, ”When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”[2]
I will read until my confidence returns.
When the next storm comes
and the gale winds blow,
instead of running for cover,
rather than hiding under the covers of self-pity
I will face their force
knowing that the God who
calms the storm
made the storm [3]
and His purposes ride its wild winds.
When he whispers,
“Peace be still”
to choppy waves and wild winds,
they do obey,[4]
because He made wind and waves.
When the next storm comes,
I will walk full into it.
If the rain pelts against my face
and the wind whips me about,
I will keep moving forward
instead of running for cover.
Perhaps He will calm the storm
with a word,
in an instant.
Or maybe instead,
even as the wind howls outside
I will walk on,
finding that refuge is not always found
away from howling winds and rough seas,
but can reside in the soul of the sailor
who is confident that
God is truly in control
even as the seas roar around him.
When the next storm comes,
even though accompanied by terror, pestilence, and sword,
I will not be afraid.[5]
(at least not for long).
Because I will remember
that though plots be waged against me
They will not prosper outside of God’s protective hand[6]
And though they may appear to succeed
for a while,
even the one who wrecks havoc
only thinks that he can destroy me,
God uses his sinister plots
to achieve good.[7]
What was meant for evil,
He will use for not just for good,[8]
but for my good.
When the next storm comes
And I feel that my path has been altered
I will know that the storm didn’t veer me off course.
The storm was the course.[9]
And that when my
days were numbered
and my steps were planned
God saw this storm on my horizon
and had already mapped its course.
He is not caught by surprise by
unexpected downpours
Or strong winds
But uses what appears swiftly and unexpectedly
to accomplish His plan for me.
When the next storm comes
I will not fret (as much)
over the reality that storms can be
so inconvenient
so disrupting,
and so discouraging
I will view this interruption
as a time to get rid of excess baggage;
and evaluate all the things
I would have to drag behind me
as I walk through the rain.[10]
There is little that you drag through the mud
that seems worth the effort
later;
after the storm.
When the next storm comes,
as it will,
I will know that it will not last forever.
That the Maker of seas and of storms
puts boundaries in place and that[11]
Rainy seasons do eventually give way
to calmer waters
and sunnier skies.
They have their season, too.
When the next storm comes
I will listen
better
and earlier,
to see if the silence will break
out of the storm, as it did for Job[12]
or after the wind, the earthquake and the fire
in a gentle whisper
as it did for Elijah.[13]
Even if God seems silent and far off,
I will remember that
Appearances are unreliable
and that He is near the broken hearted[14]
and that He hears my cries.
When the next storm comes,
I will look for His footprints,
though sometimes they are hard to detect.
I will look for the corridor
that the storm caused
not assuming that
God’s plan only comes into effect
when the storm is finished.
But that sometimes
it takes a storm
to make a path to dry land.[15]
When the next storm comes
I will know that
lightning and thunder
and sudden downpours of rain
sometimes reveal God’s glory
and that there is more to storms
than my comfort or my distress.
When war is waged in higher places
It may seem that I am
caught in the crossfire,
but my submission and obedience
have greater impact
than I can see or know.
When the next storm comes
I will remember that
I am a survivor of storms.
And rather than being defined
by the storms I have weathered,
I will seek to be refined
by the Master of inclement weather
so that when the hurricane has moved on,
though wind blown and rain soaked,
I will step out into the sunshine
smiling
from the Rock that is the secret place
of storm survivors
knowing that I can stand again in the
graciousness
faithfulness
and mercy
of the God who loves me…
When the next storm comes.
[1] Psalm 46:2 So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
[2] Psalm 56:3 But when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
[3] Zechariah 10:1 Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, and he will give it. It is the Lord who makes storm clouds that drop showers of rain so that every field becomes a lush pasture
[4] Mark 4:41 And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, "Who is this man, that even the wind and waves obey him?" Psalm 107:28-31 "Lord, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.
[5] Psalm 91:5-7 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.
[6] Isaiah 54:17 But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. And everyone who tells lies in court will be brought to justice. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!
[7] Isaiah 54:16 But the Lord Almighty is exalted by his justice. The holiness of God is displayed by his righteousness.
8 Genesis 45 Joseph could stand it no longer. "Out, all of you!" he cried out to his attendants. He wanted to be alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. Then he broke down and wept aloud. His sobs could be heard throughout the palace, and the news was quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace. "I am Joseph!" he said to his brothers. "Is my father still alive?" But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. "Come over here," he said. So they came closer. And he said again, "I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.
[9] Job 28: 26 “He made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm…”
[10] Acts 27:18-21 The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. The following day they even threw out the ship's equipment and anything else they could lay their hands on. The terrible storm raged unabated for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone
Philippians 1:12 And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.
[11] Jeremiah 5:22 Do you have no respect for me? Why do you not tremble in my presence? I, the Lord, am the one who defines the ocean's sandy shoreline, an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the bounds I set.
[12] Job 38:1-3 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: "Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Job 40:6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
[13] I Kings 19:11-12 "Go out and stand before me on the mountain," the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
[14] Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
[15] Psalm 77:16-19 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world! The earth trembled and shook. Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!