Pick your favorite news source. It doesn't matter. Left, right or in between, you come away mentally exhausted, wondering if the world is as entirely messed up as they say it is. Until you take a walk into life, in your neighborhood, your village coffee shop, your local school, and are reminded once again that "they" aren't telling the whole story. Goodness, kindness, and decency amidst differences are all around us. All carrying the DNA of heaven, whether they know it or not. The Psalmist, writing in the midst of a world of strife, got it right long, long ago:
"Yet I am confident I will see the LORD's goodness while I am here in the land of the living."
- Psalm 27:13, New Living Translation
Less than 48 hours until 2019, with its new dreams, hopes, goals. But before turning the page, it's good to reflect on the last 12 months of the LORD's goodness in the midst of it all, whether mostly peaceful or mostly rough-going, and to remember the postcards of faithfulness that God delivers our way when we are least expecting them but always just when we need them most. Postcards that often became Vitamins (and Instagrams) for the journey....
For all who Believe, our day may be over when we crawl into bed at night, but it’s jaw-dropping comforting to think that just when someone else’s day is beginning somewhere on the other side of the planet, God doesn’t just tuck us in for the night, forget us until morning, and go focus His attention on that one. Even while we sleep, our God is fully awake, and fully engaged: “He holds you firmly in place; He will not let you fall. He who keeps you will never take His eyes off of you and never drift off to sleep. What a relief! The One who watches over Israel never leaves for rest or sleep.” (Psalm 121:3-4, Voice)
Just as God continually makes Himself known through creation, so, too, does He often speak through things like donkeys and through people who may or may not have any clue they are being His messengers. Whatever it takes to get our attention, He speaks to us everywhere. Even downtown. You just have to be paying attention, and be ready to be surprised. And take notes. Heaven is all around us..."
Reckless love. It can be hard to get around what the dictionary says about "reckless": “without caring about the consequences of an action.” That just seems so, well, un-God-like. But wait…Jesus did risk everything—ministry, reputation, influence, friends—by ignoring social and religious standards by publicly talking to, loving, and touching lepers and other to-be-ignored outcasts of the day. He knew it could all unravel, but He knew that before the beginning of time. But He still came from Heaven to earth. Jesus never flinched, never hesitated, never cared about the possible negative response to His actions, because He knew his Father’s mission—and that recklessly, outrageously trumped all common sense and other people's opinions, even if they rejected him.
You don’t have to be an evangelist to be a harvester of things that truly matter. But you do have to team with the Master Gardener to prepare the soil of your own heart first, and rake up debris of complacency and the dirt that simply comes from walking through this world, so that God might plant a harvest of righteousness—one who is “right with God”—within you. And it all starts with the ministry of the interior so that you can begin to see and sense and feel like Jesus in His "harvest" declaration as you go about your day.
You have put things in my hands since day one that bring pleasure to both of us. Even in the routine.
A camera…to see new angles of Creation and reflections of You.
Two different kinds of keyboards with the same purpose…to find words and notes that point Up.
A kayak paddle…to be still and know when all around is 24/7 noise.
A baseball bat…to run free, to remember joy, to know that celebration and mission is always better with teammates.
Freshly tilled soil…maybe as a subconscious assurance that the whole earth is still full of Your glory.
And so even if it all seems routine all over again today, let me turn it on its head with this: “Are there different ways to do what you’ve always done to help someone—even yourself—see or feel the goodness of God even on this plain old vanilla kind of day?”
Sometimes, the best soundtrack for the race—the Journey, the Walk—is not your favorite downloads on shuffle but the music of encouraging voices who’ve done this before and done it well, and are cheering you on through every peak and valley and pothole and twist and turn and straightaway. It’s a soundtrack without any catchy tunes, but with a steady, ageless rhythm, and all of it able to get your feet and heart in sync like none other: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness…Continually be encouraged by the example of others; never ever say, “Not me, I can’t do it.”
Some “do somethings,” like boating, hiking, or swimming, are refreshing and relaxing. Others, like mowing lawns, weeding gardens, and still having to punch in for the 9-5 are obligatory. But then there are the “do somethings” that try to tell you that you aren’t being productive unless you, well, do something. It's good to remember, though, that Jesus—the greatest "do something" Person of all time—also took time to rest from the weary road, to take a long drink of cool water, to get away from the crowds. And it is a really good thing that He told the enemy of our souls: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God." Words like these: “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind." (Ecclesiastes 4:6, ESV)
The hills and the mountains are magnetic attractions for just about everyone, perhaps because their beauty is more than skin deep. Like everything else God has created, they contain His deeply embedded fingerprint, and He desires that all would see it, touch it, grasp it. In a sense, the hills and mountains are a 24/7 compass, displaying God's unshakeable character, reminding all who look Up of His incomparable strength, and displaying a jaw-dropping beauty that, when combined, can help the traveler on life's journey to keep going no matter how many miles-and-miles are ahead. Because Someone greater has the perfect road map.
Continually choosing praise to GOD will, no matter what kind of day or week it has been, push Truth out of your inner-most being and into the murky atmosphere where it ignites mysteriously supernatural fires within. Their praise-fueled flames begin to seer the mind of the accuser’s lies, burn cobwebs of complacency out of weary hearts, and then warm them once again with a peace that passes all understanding and a hope that does not disappoint—even though the troubles may still be real. It happens every time, and we are always the most surprised. No one knows how that all works. He just does.
Where there is death, and darkness, and a seemingly hopeless situation [the healing of Jairus' daughter Luke 8:41-56], Jesus, in so many words, tells the atmosphere to leave. He sends the mourning friends who are focused on the negative out the door, and fills the void with the incomparable goodness of Himself. More than a beautiful story of hope in a hopeless situation, Jesus’ raising of Jairus’ daughter gives insight—with fanfare accompaniment—into how we should pray about and how we should look at and speak to the dark situations of our own life and the world around us.
The season of Arrival [Advent] can mean many things, and one of them is surely this: Whether we live in a city of millions or a rural town of hundreds and feel alone or insignificant in our longing for Arrival, it’s good to remember that Jesus has never been impressed by huge crowds but instead moves into and through enlarged hearts of a remnant few. Many of the greatest revivals in history, in the most unlikeliest of places, began with one man or woman saying “I will follow, come what may,” or two or three unnoticed ones praying together in their homes at night.
Just as it—just as He—had done countless times before, the whole atmosphere and attitude shifted to their rightful place when words that “magnify” came out of my mouth. How does that happen? It’s a mystery, really, from a God beyond figuring out. But there is this unshakeable goodness: There is no “I” in He, and down through the ages, that has made all the difference to countless millions of worshipers who were “not feelin’ it” when they stood up to sing but felt everything within them shift when they looked Up and opened their mouths anyway.
To all who have come this way in 2018, a happy and blessed 2019 be yours. Keep looking Up, keep on singing, and keep on believing that the postcards of faithfulness will never run out...
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