Excerpts from Toby Sumpter’s excellent post on Haiti’s tragic earthquakes — and, consequently, all things under the sun:
God is the Creator and sustainer of all things. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). “In these last days [God has] spoken to us by His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds… and upholding all things by the word of His power…” (Heb. 1:2-3) “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord do all these things” (Is. 45:7). This includes earthquakes. While this is perhaps the hardest part of the answer, it ultimately rests in the conviction that God is love and that this love is supremely evidenced in the horror of the cross of Jesus Christ. Christians refuse to get their definitions of love, justice, and mercy from the newspapers, Hollywood, or sappy vampire romance novels. We insist that these and all other virtues must be grounded in the person of Jesus crucified. So we do not begin with an abstract notion of “God is love” or even that “God is good.”
God hates evil and suffering, but God is not bound by them. God is free. He is free to overcome evil and suffering through bending it to His good purposes.
God hates evil and suffering in itself, because it is the remnants of the old sin cursed world that still haunts all of us. But God is free to use this ugliness as He pleases, and He does.
God does save lives and others He takes. “Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive: I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from my hand” (Dt. 32:39). He is the God of the living and the dead: the life of every living thing is in His absolute control (Job 12:10). He takes the lives of those who are wicked and in high handed rebellion, and He brings His own people home to rest in His presence until the resurrection. In this, He is absolutely just and merciful.
Job 1:21 “…The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Our pastoral intern, Ben Alexander, preaches excellently. I am always both encouraged and challenged by the words of Truth which Christ speaks through him. This morning he preached on 1 Corinthians 13 — you know, the famous “love” section. He highlighted verse 7:
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.“
It made me think about the members of Christ’s body that have truly reached out to us with such Christlike love lately. It isn’t just anyone who has loved us with this true type of love. The type that bears with us, believes with us, hopes with us, and endures with us. There are a number of people who have tangibly loved us this way. And my eyes filled with encouraged tears as soon as he began reading his sermon text this morning. A dear friend sent me an email not long ago saying that they find my husband & me to be exemplifying the love mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13. The email meant a great deal to me, and blessed me. To know that we are ministering to others, proclaiming the Gospel through our life, and showcasing Christ’s love even in our grief and pain — that knowledge blessed me. And so I was reminded of that this morning. But in all honesty, I do not feel deserving of such encouragement. I do not feel like I bear all things or endure things — not well, at any rate. I feel like believing and hoping are grasping at straws for me some days. But may the Lord enable me to continually grow and become established in Him, conforming more and more to His image, so that I may (ere I die) be mature in this. Upon hearing the sermon text for today, the number one person that popped into my head was my Steven. He is patient and kind; never envious or boastful, arrogant or rude; he does not insist on his own way (even though he knows I would necessarily submit to him if he did); he is not easily irritated or harbor resentment; he rejoices in Truth; and truly, truly he bears all things (good, bad, ugly…) with me & for me, he believes all things (by the power of God in him) with me & for me, he hopes all things (for his hope is grounded deeply in the Lord), and he endures all things (I don’t even need to begin a list here). This man loves with a never-ending, never-failing love. My Steven epitomizes this section of Scripture. Praise the Lord. And amen! The next set of people that popped into my head are my parents. Never have such parents existed before, I think. (I know, I know — I’m partial, right?) They bear, believe, hope, and endure so much with us. Tangibly. Praise the Lord. And hallelujah! And then there are others. Some who read this very blog! 🙂 Thank you for loving us with Christlike love.
I know that Galatians 6:2 (“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”) is referring specifically to burdens of transgression, but I think the principle is largely (and appropriately) applied to other burdensome situations as well. My dearest friend’s mother leads a Bible study I attend, and she said recently “if you are bearing one another’s burdens, you should feel burdened. Truly burdened.” So for those of you who are specifically loving us in the way of helping to bear our burden of the past year — thank you for being burdened, and may our kind Father in Heaven bless you with a doublefold reward.
This morning, Ben Alexander said
“Maturity is the man of the most love.“
and
“Maturity is a person who knows that God loves them… Who hates their sin and loves their forgiveness.“
I liked those snippets. He also said
“Post millenialism is confident faith in God’s victory over the world.“
I love God’s victorious reign!
The five main points of the sermon application are as follows: 1) Christ’s enduring love is not provincial. 2) Christ’s enduring love is not self-preserving. 3) Christ’s enduring love does not believe a person can’t change. 4) Christ’s enduring love does not give up on people. 5) Christ’s enduring love places maximum value on the other person.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Love never ends. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
But I will hope continually and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth will tell of Your righteous acts, of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, from my youth You have taught me, and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like You? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth You will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.
May God grant me the grace to pray this psalm with a believing heart.
“I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love,
because You have seen my affliction;
You have known the distress of my soul…”
>
This morning we heard another sermon about “joy during trial.” I can’t remember how many times in the last year we have heard sermons (or been sent links to sermons) on this very subject. Of course everyone thinks immediately of us, and how badly we must need to hear these sermons. I’ve been sent cards from loving people at our church following these sermons, where people express their gladness that we were able to hear a sermon about joy during adversity, and they hope it blessed & encouraged us.
That’s all very well and good. Except that I am continually left baffled by these sermons and a few distinct lackings.
For one thing, no one ever defines their terms. They throw around words like “joy,” “happy,” and “rejoice”—but they never define them. What do they really mean? Not just in our modern American understanding of the words—but what about in the biblical context? What do those words mean? And for another thing, they never describe what joy or rejoicing looks like amidst trial. I am convinced that it looks different than joy in times of obvious reprieve. But nobody ever touches that nuance. Why not?
The sermon text today was Hebrews 12:1-2 “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” The point was something to the effect of that we too have a joy set before us, like Christ did, so we should endure whatever crosses our sovereign God brings to us in light of future joys. He also cited 1 Peter 4:13 “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” I believe that verse again emphasizes a future joy. We will rejoice and be glad when Christ’s glory is revealed, so therefore we may be thankful for that during our sharing of Christ’s suffering.
I have no grievance with the principle that we should endure trial and affliction in light of future joys, and acknowledging that we will rejoice when Christ’s glory is revealed. But I do have a qualm or two with how it played out.
For instance, when Jesus “endured the cross” and “despised the shame” while He was nailed there, naked and covered in the sins of the world and left by His Father to descend into Hades—was He smiling? Was He singing psalms of praise and adoration? Was He merry and laughing? No, on all accounts. If you remember, Jesus was naked and ashamed, bleeding, gasping for breath, crying, exclaiming out loud a psalm of desperation “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” before He cried His last. This psalm that Jesus cried out, Psalm 22, is a psalm of David when he felt utterly forsaken. Psalm 22:1-2, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” On and on the psalmist goes throughout the psalm, his pain and anguish and desperation for rescue all very evident. Are David and Jesus obeying the command to “rejoice always”? The Lord instructs us, through the words of Paul, to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
So… back to my point. (What was my point?) 🙂
Joyfulness looks different in times of deep trial and utter anguish than in times of respite and peace. But nobody ever points that out in sermons. I sincerely wish they would.
And what about defining the terms? Well… in our modern culture, joy and happiness are quite often used synonymously. In fact, the dictionary definitions I looked up even showed “joy” and “happy” as synonyms: Joy—the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation; a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated; true happiness… Happy—delighted, pleased, or glad; characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy; favored by fortune; fortunate or lucky…
If looked at biblically and historically, however, I am fairly certain that we would find a better distinction between the terms. If I had access to my husband’s biblical study tools (or if he had time to look it up for me, maybe… hint, hint…), I could personally look up the original words in Hebrew and Greek to find their true meanings. I did find some links that did it for me! (see below) While happiness is largely circumstantial, joy stems from our relationship with Christ. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Happiness is not. If you’re interested in reading a site I found particularly helpful, you are welcome to click here. One portion from that page that I was particularly interested in said,
Biblical joy is inseparable from our relationship with God and springs from our knowledge and understanding of the purpose of life and the hope of living with God for eternity when there will be joy evermore. If God is actually present in our lives, the joy He experiences can begin in us (Psalm 16:11). Joy is the sign that life has found its purpose, its reason for being! This, too, is a revelation of God, for no one can come to Him and find the purpose of life unless He, by His Spirit, calls him and reveals it (John 6:44; I Corinthians 2:10).
[J]oy as a religious emotion is very frequently referred to in the Old Testament. Religion is conceived of as touching the deepest springs of emotion, including the feeling of exultant gladness which often finds outward expression in such actions as leaping, shouting, and singing. Joy is repeatedly shown to be the natural outcome of fellowship with God.
Paul speaks of joy as one of the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22) and of “joy in the Holy Spirit” as an essential mark of the kingdom of God (Rom 14:17). This joy is associated with faith (Phil 1:25), hope (Rom 5:2; 12:12), brotherly fellowship and sympathy (Rom 12:15; 2 Cor 7:13; Phil 2:1 f). To rejoice in the Lord is enjoined as a Christian duty (Phil 3:1; 4:4; compare 2:17 f; 1 Thess 5:16). In Christ, the Christian “rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8), in spite of his temporary afflictions (1 Pet 1:6). Christian joy is no mere gaiety that knows no gloom, but is the result of the triumph of faith over adverse and trying circumstances, which, instead of hindering, actually enhance it (Acts 5:41; Rom 5:3 f; Jas 1:2,12; 5:11; 1 Pet 4:13; compare Mt 5:11,12).
This is very clearly no mere happiness. This is different. It stems from something different, it feels different, it looks different.
How come this isn’t preached as a distinction? Joy in trial often isn’t defined or described. It’s just preached. It leaves the congregation wondering. Preachers often make it sound like they’re talking about being happy. Smiling. Laughing. Acting like there is no pain. It makes people in trial or anguish, those under affliction, feel like we should be skipping around with smiles and giggles, pretending that our hearts are not broken. Is that biblical truth? Absolutely not.
In my experience, I know the difference. I am frequently not happy. I doubt anyone could honestly (or biblically) hold that against me when I have had five of my six precious children die. I have sent five little redheads into the heavenly kingdom before my 26th birthday, and in only 2 ½ years of marriage. It is devastating. And it gets more tragic with each baby we bid farewell. Grief upon grief. So yes, I am often unhappy in trial.
But I can say with candor and truth that I am simultaneously joyful in trial. Because the joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Because I have been baptized into Christ, I have put on Christ, and I am an heir according to the promise (Galatians 3:27-29). And because I do not grieve as one who has no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), but look forward to reuniting with my entire family someday when I too enter the Lord’s rest.
How is joy during trial evidenced in my own life?? We maintain fellowship with our Lord and Savior. We maintain fellowship with our brothers and sisters (although, yes, the fellowship may look different than usual). Our marriage grows stronger. Our love for Gabriel and passion for discipling him according to Scripture grows deeper. We learn new ways to minister to other suffering people. We better understand Job, David, Paul, and other biblical writers who endured great suffering. etc…
Romans 5:3-5 “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
I think Romans 5 tells us what “joy in trial” should look like. It doesn’t involve skipping. And it doesn’t necessarily involve lollipops, smiles, or giddy games. It does involve endurance, character, hope, and growth in love.
So those are my thoughts. A few of them anyway. Enough for tonight.
Psalm 123:2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He has mercy upon us.
Please beseech the Lord with us for His grace and mercy, and look to Him with us in our time of need. We found out that our dear little Baby Six has joined our babies in heaven.
Psalm 119:28 My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word!
Please pray for the Lord to strengthen us, even in the midst of overwhelming sorrow.
Please rejoice with us in this bittersweet time that God’s covenantal promises are for us and for our children, and that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. We will meet our children in the heavenly gates someday! How my heart longs for that moment. I am so eager to worship alongside these five little redheads who my arms so ache to hold.
Please, also, pray that my body would realize that the baby has died, so that I do not continue with pregnancy symptoms and growth, and would not need medical intervention. If there is one thing that compounds the grief of a bereaved mother, it is when such things become medicalized & sterile.
Once the baby has been delivered (we are praying the Lord mercifully allows this sooner than later), I will update with the baby’s name and birthdate and Bible verses.
Thank you, and peace be with you.
Daniel 9:18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations… For we do not present our pleas before You because of our righteousness, but because of Your great mercy.
I love celebrating Advent. We don’t do much with it. Not yet. Someday when Gabriel is older (and has siblings on earth, we pray!), we will incorporate more tangible things into our Advent celebration and anticipation. Crafts and outings and activities and books. This year, Gabriel latched onto the chocolate routine with vigor. Next year I will add something. Thankfully I have eleven months to come up with it. 🙂 And something else for someday – celebrating the twelve days of Christmas, leading up to Epiphany. My husband smiles and shrugs (for now!) when I suggest it, but I think he’ll come around someday. I am eager to incorporate more and more of the traditional Church calendar into our lives in the future, especially with kids. Why should we live according to a secular calendar so minutely, and yet throw out the Church calendar?! It makes absolutely no sense. Unless you’re a pagan. So anyway.
Dear Pastor Toby Sumpter has inspired me this morning with some readings. You must read them too. You simply must. 🙂 I got chills when reading one and tears when reading the other. Read what he says about proclaiming Christmas to the old, the decrepit, the dying. And then read what he says about living, resting, and truly doing Christmas with his own family.
Happy Christmas Eve, my friends!! As we’d say when I was little, “only one more sleep until Christmas!” I hope your preparations are joyful and your festivities are blessed. The Lord be with you, and may He give you great joy!
From Heaven above to earth I come, To bear good news to every home; Glad tidings of great joy I bring, Whereof I now will say and sing.
To you, this night, is born a Child Of Mary, chosen mother mild; This tender Child of lowly birth, Shall be the joy of all your earth.
’Tis Christ our God, who far on high Had heard your sad and bitter cry; Himself will your Salvation be, Himself from sin will make you free.
He brings those blessings long ago Prepared by God for all below; That in His heavenly kingdom blest You may with us forever rest.
These are the tokens ye shall mark, The swaddling clothes and manger dark; There shall ye find the young Child laid, By Whom the heavens and earth were made.
Now let us all, with gladsome cheer, Follow the shepherds, and draw near To see this wondrous Gift of God, Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.
Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes! What is it in yon manger lies? Who is this Child, so young and fair? The blessèd Christ Child lieth there!
Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest, Through Whom e’en wicked men are blest! Thou com’st to share our misery, What can we render, Lord, to Thee!
Ah, Lord, who hast created all, How hast Thou made Thee weak and small, To lie upon the coarse dry grass, The food of humble ox and ass.
Were earth a thousand times as fair, Beset with gold and jewels rare, She yet were far too poor to be A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.
For velvets soft and silken stuff Thou hast but hay and straw so rough, Whereon Thou King, so rich and great, As ’twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.
Thus hath it pleased Thee to make plain The truth to us, poor fools and vain, That this world’s honor, wealth and might Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled, Here in my poor heart’s inmost shrine, That I may evermore be Thine.
My heart for very joy doth leap, My lips no more can silence keep, I too must sing, with joyful tongue, That sweetest ancient cradle song.
Glory to God in highest Heaven, Who unto man His Son hath given, While angels sing, with pious mirth, A glad New Year to all the earth.
~Martin Luther
I don’t know if any of you do much blog-hopping – I do. Especially to blogs of mommies who have lost children – through miscarriage, stillbirth, or later deaths. It simultaneously makes my heart ache and encourages me. I am not alone. I am not weird. My heart is doing what it should do – no matter what anyone may tell me about getting over it, moving on, or being ‘happy’ regardless of circumstances.
So anyway…
Yesterday I went to one of my favorites. And she had a post about True Joy. This is coming from a young woman whose only child, a precious & beautiful 11 month old girl, died last February. She is expecting another baby any day. And you can try to imagine the mix of emotions they are enduring this Christmas season. I must admit that I don’t have to imagine very hard – I know all too well that line between grief & hope.
She refers to the One Year Book of Hope I have recommended, too. And I hope it will bless you to read what she says, and quotes from that book. I know it blessed me.
Regardless of our state of happiness this Christmas, even WE CAN BE JOYFUL. So without further ado, here is what Jess wrote (in case you’re afraid to click on links)….
“The truth is, it is possible to be filled with joy and still not be described as “happy.” Sometimes we’re just plain sad, not only down in our hearts, but down to our toes…
…The Bible says, “A joyful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22, NASB). As we savor the joy we have in Christ, we feel the healing power of that medicine. In fact, our joy should be as consistent as God is. It doesn’t have to be tied to the turbulent conditions of our feelings and moods. Our joy is grounded in God. It flows from him and back to him. Joy is not something we can generate with positive thinking or a bit of humor. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in our inner lives. Joy shines forth from the life of the true believer, no matter how dark the circumstances. Joy in God deserves our constant, courageous pursuit.” -Nancy Guthrie
How reassuring is it to know that our joy isn’t tied to the sometimes turbulent conditions around us?
It isn’t tied to how sad I am feeling as we prepare to celebrate this first Christmas without Cora. It isn’t tied to how my heart hurts when I see all these happy Christmas cards and realize again that there will be no family pictures with Cora this year. It isn’t tied to how sad I am that Cora won’t be here to welcome her new brother or sister with us. It isn’t even tied to how much love we will feel when we meet Baby Mac any day now. True joy does not necessarily equal happiness.
My joy is grounded in Christ. And I can experience deep joy, even in the midst of sorrow, because my hope is in Christ. That doesn’t mean we won’t have any tears or sadness. But, I pray that this true joy is what others see shining from my life and family, even during this first Christmas without Cora.
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates; Behold, the King of glory waits; The King of kings is drawing near; The Savior of the world is here!
A Helper just He comes to thee, His chariot is humility, His kingly crown is holiness, His scepter, pity in distress.
O blest the land, the city blest, Where Christ the Ruler is confessed! O happy hearts and happy homes To whom this King in triumph comes!
Fling wide the portals of your heart; Make it a temple, set apart From earthly use for heaven’s employ, Adorned with prayer and love and joy.
Redeemer, come, with us abide; Our hearts to Thee we open wide; Let us Thy inner presence feel; Thy grace and love in us reveal.
Thy Holy Spirit lead us on Until our glorious goal is won; Eternal praise, eternal fame Be offered, Savior, to Thy Name!
~Georg Weissel, tr. Catherine Winkworth
Zechariah 8:1-8
And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? Thus says the LORD of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”
[as a side note… I LOVE THIS next part!]
The Incarnation began a new world: “old things have passed away; behold all things have
become new” (2 Cor. 5:18). “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself ” (2 Cor.
5:19). In the Incarnation we learn that “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (Jn. 1:4,5).
Themes of newness and light should always pervade our Christmas celebrations. The
northern hemisphere has an especially nice background—darkest winter—to emphasize light
overcoming darkness. Sometimes we decorate our homes with lights as a symbol of turning
back the night, of the brightness scattering the darkness. Just when the sun is farthest from the
earth, the Light of lights moves us toward spring.
In a parallel way, we emphasize newness by pressing forward toward a restored Eden. To
plant a tree full of “fruit” in our living rooms in the middle of winter is another way we picture
turning back the death of winter. The tree itself is not some compromised pagan carry over.
The symbol is originally biblical; trees of life and knowledge are central to our Edenic origins.
Sure pagans slunk off with Edenic symbols and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator,
but that is their sin, not ours. The Bible begins and ends with a tree, and the reversal of the
Fall gets its strength from the Incarnation: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
This newness of life is not only pictured in fruitful trees; the whole creation has been
made new. Christmas is the beginning of the New Heavens and Earth, and this naturally comes
to expression in our gift giving—new clothes, new tools, new games, new books—a new world.
And if the Lord blesses and your tree is gloriously surrounded with boxes on top of boxes of
this new order of stuff, you can stoop down level with all those boxes and see that the boxes
resemble a city skyline, a new city, “the great city, the holy Jerusalem”—“the foundations of
the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones” (Rev. 21:19) where the
nations “bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it” (Rev. 21:26). And in the middle
of this city is “the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.
The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2)—your Christmas tree.
Most Christian treatments of Christmas wallow in complaining about materialism and
commercialism. Those concerns obviously have their place. But we must learn to delight in the
life of God. If you have a healthy family, focus on the positive vision—light and life and newness.
This is a time when the world turned from a desert drought to the abundance of Christ.
Behold! the mountain of the Lord In latter days shall rise On mountain tops above the hills, And draw the wondering eyes.
To this the joyful nations round, All tribes and tongues, shall flow; Up to the hill of God, they’ll say, And to His house we’ll go.
The beam that shines from Zion hill Shall lighten every land; The King Who reigns in Salem’s towers Shall all the world command.
Among the nations He shall judge; His judgments truth shall guide; His scepter shall protect the just, And quell the sinner’s pride.
No strife shall vex Messiah’s reign Or mar the peaceful years; To plowshares soon they beat their swords To pruning hooks their spears.
No longer hosts encountering hosts, Their millions slain deplore; They hang the trumpets in the hall And study war no more.
Come then, O house of Jacob, come To worship at His shrine; And, walking in the light of God, With holy beauties shine.
~Michael Bruce, paraphrasing Isaiah 2
“The angels knew what was going on even if no one else did. They grasped the bizarre reality of Shakespeare stepping onto the stage, of God making Himself vulnerable, dependent, and human — making Himself Adam. And so, in a more appropriate sense, they arranged a concert and put on what was no doubt the greatest choral performance in planetary history.
Were the kings gathered? Where were the people with the important hats? Where were the ushers, the corporate sponsors?
The Heavenly Host, the souls and angels of stars, descended into our atmosphere and burst in harmonic joy above a field and some rather startled shepherds.
But the crowd was bigger than that. The shepherds were a distinct minority. Mostly, the angels were just singing to sheep.
I’m sure those animals paid attention, and not just because there was a baby in their food bowl.
Sidenote: Does this sound like something a human would make up? Does it sound like something a bunch of cult builders would create to impress potential tithers?
And then the Holy One, the World-Maker, was born in a …in…uh…
And the angels themselves descended, overflowing with jubilation and sang to a randomly selected flock of sheep and a couple of their unwashed, illiterate shepherds — the Lord Incarnate’s first worshipers.”
[Christmas stockings are] quite delightful. And, yes, lots of the stuff I put in them is entirely unnecessary. But God gives us “unnecessaries” all the time. Like the flickers (woodpeckers) out on my fence. And the pink winter sunsets. And the red berries hanging so colorfully from the bare branches of the Mountain Ash. And the powdery snow falling quietly on the trees. Who needs all that stuff? Totally redundant and perfectly wonderful. God stuffs our stockings full of unnecessary pleasures and over-our-quota goodness day after day. Oh, to be like Him. ~Nancy Wilson
Philippians 2:12-16
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”
John 12:46
“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
I have a new diagnosis – I have a somewhat rare autoimmune disorder that gives my babies only an 8% chance of survival without treatment. Thus, I have new treatment – it’s called IVIg, where my blood gets infused via i.v. with a medicine made from about 1000 people’s plasma. This monthly (or so) treatment should give our babies at least a 50% chance to survive. And also, my womb has a new tenant – Baby Six has slipped in as secretly and quietly as Peace slipped out. Praise be to the Lord, who does all things well!
Please uphold us in prayer. We are still in grief, and trying to plow in hope. These next few days and weeks are very tentative and scary. May God have mercy upon our family, and preserve Baby Six for life in the Kingdom on earth. And may He use His gift of medical advances to enable my womb to care for this (and future) baby(ies).
I casually ordered a book online recently — it was one of those times on amazon.com when I wasn’t quite at the $25 mark, and wanted to reach it in order to have free shipping. Anyway… so I (almost haphazardly) added one more book to my cart before checking out. It was this book.
The One Year Book of Hope by Nancy Guthrie
It’s been sitting on my desk for a few days now, and I was considering saving it for January, when I could actually use it as a daily read for 2010; you know, since it’s organized into a “one year” format. But today I decided that I needed to crack open its cover. Today I needed to know that hope still exists. Because some moments, I just don’t see it.
On one of the first pages, there is simply this quote:
Comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not et either comfort or truth– only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Then I read the “Acknowledgments” page — that’s when the tears began. I took off my glasses, wiped my cheeks with my sleeve, took a sip of tea, and turned the page.
Two sentences into the “Introduction,” I lost it again. Something about the phrase “loss that changed everything about your life in an instant” hit me hard. She gets it. The author gets it. It isn’t just one thing in my life. It’s one thing in my life that suddenly, instantaneously changed everything. She goes on, and another phrase pinpointed reality for me when she mentioned “all the questions that taunt us in the midst of tears and keep us awake in the night.” I’m not sure which is worse — that scenario or the nightmares when I do sleep. But either way, she gets it.
The author shares the story of losing their baby girl due to Zellweger Syndrome. She says, “Though we had shed our share of tears during her life, and while I was hopeful that those tears would lighten my load of grief after her death, it didn’t seem to work that way.” During Peace’s life, I hoped it would work that way too. But nope, it didn’t. She goes on, “It seems to me that most losses aren’t just one loss, but a series of losses. For a while I grieved Hope [her daughter]‘s death. Then I grieved her limited life. Then I grieved our loss of potential.” A series of losses. Oh God, how true.
Later in the “Introduction,” the author explains something her sister-in-law shared with her. When asking how you can get through and deal with the death of such a dearly loved one, her sister-in-law said “‘Manna.’ She explained that just as the children of Israel were dependent on God to provide manna to sustain them every day while they wandered in the wilderness, I had to depend on God to give me the manna I needed every day to sustain me as I grieved my loss… Every day.“
Wow. Stop crying. Wipe those tears, Melissa, you’ve gotta keep reading. Look at the next page.
“Processing pain and embracing its lessons are daily endeavors. Every day we need a little more light to illumine our darkness.” Oh praise God, I am not alone. Manna.
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First lesson, focusing on Psalm 119:28-30. I weep with grief; encourage me by Your Word… Good sentences: “When we are hurting, it seems like everyone wants to fix us… Well-meaning friends and family tell us what to do and how to feel, only adding to our confusion.” “Oh, the painful thoughts that go through our heads when the hurt is deep!” “God’s Word speaks the truth we are desperate for, even as we weep with grief.” “Honestly, I resent it when someone seems to pat me on the head with a Bible verse in a way that seems to devalue my genuine hurt and dismiss my deep questions.” “The truth is what we need most when the hurt is the deepest.” The exercise at the end was reading Psalm 119, and writing down what the psalmist asks God for that I also want to ask of God.
Second lesson, focusing on Psalm 56:8. All my sorrows… All my tears… Each one… Good sentences: “I used to rarely cry, but now tears are always close to the surface, just waiting to be released. It is as if there is a broken place inside me where tears are stored. Letting them out has been the only way to release the pressure of the pain.” “Some see tears not only as a loss of control but also as a lack of faith. It is as if the physical manifestation of tears gives evidence of a spiritual deficiency–that if our faith was big enough… we simply wouldn’t be this sad.” “It is as if we think our grasp of spiritual realities can erase the hurts of being human.” “God does not discount or dismiss your tears.” “He wipes them away.” (Isaiah 25:8) “And Revelation 21:4 tells us that not only will He wipe away tears, He will remove all of the sorrow that caused them.” The exercise at the end was reading Psalm 56, and writing a list of what David determined to do despite & through his tears.
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So that’s my new book. It’s my new lifeline, I think, really. I made it through the first two devotional pages/meditations. The pages are already getting dimpled with salty tears, and covered in blue ink from my ready pen.
If you know someone who is grieving — I think I can safely say (although officially only on page 3), that you need to give them this book. Pray that God would use this book in my life, that He would renew my hope, and that I would have the courage to continue reading.
