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How to stay strong in the middle of a proverbial tornado:

Step 1: Stop thinking, twiddling, worrying, and pacing.

Step 2: Praise God

Step 3: Remember the story of Job began with a claim from Satan that Job would  forsake the Lord.

Step 4: Read the Psalms of David. He loved the Lord dearly; but he was also very emotional.

Step 5: Go ahead and panic. That is not a sin and will actually help you cry out to God in faith.

Step 6: Remember that tornadoes only last for a few minutes then they’re gone.  They leave a path of destruction, yet they cannot destroy everything.

Step 7: Trust God.

Step 8: Pray earnestly for someone other than yourself.

Worry is just an unwelcome guest the greets you at your need.

Life has its ups and downs-some call these peaks and valleys.  That is just a religious phrase to me.   When I’ve been at my lowest (valley), it is there that I feel my Lord nearest to me.  When I’ve been at my highest (peak), it is there that I think I understand the Lord and I think I am okay.

With this said,my peaks are my valleys and my valleys are my peaks.

Does peace benefit us most when life is peaceful and going the way we want?

Or does it better serve us when everything is slipping through our fingers and we lose all sense of control?

Does love change us when we are around those who warm our hearts?

Or does that happen when we love the selfish,  irritating, and proud?

I’ve often heard that worrying is the mind’s way of trying to control an impossible situation; but I think worrying is the first step of the flesh in yielding to God’s Sovereign will.

First we worry, then we lay it down.  It is not a sacrifice unless it is hard to give to Him.

Jesus did not invite those who were safe and without need to take an afternoon nap with Him.  He did not offer His yolk to join in with us in our already cushy and spectacular day.

No.

Jesus said, “come all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light.”

There’s something to be said about that.

“Take my burden Lord, for it is straining me. Yolk me to you Oh Lord, for this ox I’m attached to is dragging me down.  Lord, I am more weary than a marathon runner at mile 23.  Jesus, my back is aching, my biceps are burning, my knees are weakening, my feet are swelling, and my neck is cramped! Take this my Savior! It is too heavy for me. Help!”

Lord, I am a sparrow; keep your eyes upon me.

When I am writing, studying, and teaching I feel like I know the least; when my children are full of questions about life, or sadness and I cannot seem to provide answers or peace; when my teenager gives me attitude and I want to pull my hair out; when I hear someone mocking God; when my students are trying my patience and I know I need to show them Christ-in those moments, I ask for wisdom.

James 1:5-8 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

Solomon asked for wisdom and “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29).

I’m pretty sure that when Solomon asked for wisdom, he did not doubt that God would give it to him.

James later goes on to say in Chapter 3, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (v. 17-18).

Do those attributes of wisdom ring a bell to anybody? To me they sounds like the fruits of the Spirit. So, if I am living in the Spirit, I am living in Wisdom! At this point, I think all should read John 15.

The main function of the Holy Spirit in pre-church history was “as a divine power at work in the world” (Grenz, 2011, P. 361). When the Spirit came upon someone, it was to fulfill a task given by God; He was never something that permanently indwelled in any human.  However, as Jesus came and died, His Spirit was promised to come in His place.  At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit made an unabashed appearance, filling all who were present (Acts 2:4).

The Spirit comes to all who are saved as Eph. 1:13-14 says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Other than the obvious, what is the difference between us and Solomon?

The main thing I can think of is that we actually have the  Holy Spirit living in us – and He is not going anywhere. He is constantly working, fulfilling, and indwelling whether we acknowledge His presence or not.

We actually can have more wisdom than Solomon!

Reference:

Grenz, S. J. (2000). Theology for the Community of God (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

When I take a shower, 3 things happen:

1.  I clean my body.

2. I praise the Lord.

3. I reflect on my fears and failures.

#2 and #3 hardly ever occur at the same time; #1 always is accomplished.

One day last week, I was trying to enjoy a steamy shower and my mind was suddenly bombarded with visions of some particularly painful previous sins.  It was as if I was watching a movie or documentary of my most troublesome sins.

I began to weep before the Lord asking Him for forgiveness.

He said to me, “Daughter, what are you talking about?”

So, I’ve been asked why I would name something “Truth or Prayer”.  Doesn’t it give off the connotation that truth and prayer are separate?

Well, the truth is, yes….kinda.  BUT, it is a spinoff of the old teeny bopper game “Truth or Dare”.  In the game, a person chooses either “truth” and promises to be totally honest in answering whatever question is asked,  or “dare”  and do whatever they are dared to do.  There is no backing out of either choice.

Such is life.  We have the choice to be completely truthful no matter what.

This includes unabashed honesty with ourselves. Sometimes we have to look at hard issues in our lives and tell the complete truth about them even when we want to sugarcoat them with some sort of fancy justification or what not.

Also, if we want to live in an unbroken relationship with God, we must be completely honest with Him.  WOW is that hard!

How many times do we say, “Hey God, I’m questioning your Sovereignty today?” Probably not very often.  Instead we worry, and in the midst of that say, “God is in control” all the while wondering if He really is in control or if He is going to work things out for OUR interest.  Never mind His glory, right?

Oh, wait.

No, He is in control.  No question. He does deserve the glory.

He is sovereign when we worry. He is sovereign when our plans fail. He is sovereign when we have been stung by evil.  He is sovereign when we overdraft our bank accounts. He is always sovereign.

Whatever we need to get honest about, it is time to get honest.  No human in the history of mankind is sinless. Except One, and He is Sovereign.

Oh how hard that is.  Okay, never mind…I choose prayer!

It is in prayer that we are able to present ourselves to the Most High in complete trust in Him.  In prayer we are able to seek His will and find His heart.  It is here that our truth is revealed -no matter how awful it is- and is transformed into His truth.

In prayer, we can submit to His Sovereignty. It is also in prayer that we hear His voice and His commission.

“Go out into all the world and make disciples of all the nations.”  Yikes.

“Go tell that woman she is beautiful.”  uh…isn’t that creepy?

“Ask them if you can pray for them.”  What if they think….?

“Be patient with this man. Show Him grace.”  But!

“Give this woman all the money in your wallet.” What if I need it?

“Trust Me.”

Oh how hard that is.  Okay, never mind…I choose truth!

In short, this “blog” will be postings of some truth or postings of some prayer with a few stories in between.