Way off in the distance

It may seem like the solution, the resolution, peace or even God Himself is way off in the distance. Heck it might even feel like there’s no hope at all. Don’t give up! He hasn’t gone anywhere and He’s for certain at work in your life. As you’re struggling include Him, cry out or even just cry. You are loved, prayed for and at some point in the hopefully near future you’ll be able to see how this time was used to make change for the better.

Beautiful Storm

We saw the most amazing storm over the Arizona desert today. The rain reached the ground as the stem from a giant black mushroom above. The lightning was so intense and seemed to come from every inch of the enormous cloud. It was so beautiful. It occurred to me that the reason we were able to see the loveliness in this incredible storm was because we weren’t in it, it was off in the distance.

We experience something quite similar with the storms we face in our lives. When we’re in them they can be terrifying, tumultuous or at best uncomfortable but once they’ve passed we see their beauty. Often they’ve washed away dust or cobwebs that may have settled where they shouldn’t and the fresh rain allows something long dormant to spring to life once again. If we remember the beauty of our past storms it will make it easier to trust God when we’re in the middle of the next.

I’m Afraid

There are many who keep God at a distance out of fear. They may be afraid that He’ll ask them to do something they don’t want to do or send them somewhere they don’t want to go. I’ve even heard some say they’re fearful that if they get too close He’ll take them to Heaven before they’re ready. This is not God. He doesn’t want us to be afraid. He’s not asking to be our boss so He can order us around at His whim. His desire to be involved in our lives is not for His benefit at all. He completely wants what is best for us. You see God doesn’t have some need to “be first in our lives”. There’s no scorecard. We don’t end our day checking off the list: prayer – 1 hour, devotion – ½ hour, served lunch at the mission – 2 hours… slept 7 hours, dang God didn’t come in first. What He wants more than anything is to be involved in all of our life. Certainly study and prayer but also work and play. He wants to be included in our laughter just as much as in our tears. We needn’t be afraid. What He has for us is so much more than what we want for ourselves.

Here’s a great podcast that touches on this: The God Journey

Wounded

We’ve all been wounded; it’s part of life. We live in an imperfect world filled with flawed people, not the least of which is I. As we mentioned yesterday, being aware that we are no better than those around us allows us to have the heart of God towards people but we have to present our weakness to Him. It’s the same with our wounds. A wound kept from the Lord only hardens our heart and like our hidden flaws, keeps others at a distance. Hurt and pain turned over to God brings healing and permits us to be used in the healing of others.

Logjam

We all just want to be loved, but too often we’re so afraid we won’t be or can’t be that we keep those around us at a distance. Rather than giving the love that everyone needs we wait to get some for ourselves creating a logjam.