Please Stand By

Sometimes God speaks to me audibly.

I'm not saying that the woman in the Costco self checkout is God--He'd use better grammar ("Your savings is..." *shudder*  I've seriously thought of writing to the corporation)--but Monday I heard him speak to me through that voice.  (It's surprising how often He uses imperfect vessels.)

Whenever possible I use the self-checkout.  It's just so hard to be patient while someone else is pokey and packs the hamburger buns on the bottom.  Yes, I say something about the buns (much to the horror of my children, but seriously!), and, no, I don't have control issues, just an appreciation of things done well.  However, it is inconvenient when there's a glitch.  Like on Monday when I swiped a shirt and placed it on the belt.  Wouldn't take.  I tried again.  And again.

"Help is required for this item.  Please stand by.  Help is on the way."  Thankfully, her grammar was correct at this stressful moment.  The only way I was going to leave the store with that shirt (half price and a lovely shade of blue!) was if I waited.  Waited for help.  Help that was apparently on the way.

That's when I laughed out loud.

Indeed.

Help is required for this item.

Please stand by.

Help is on the way.

That thought which had been pinging around in my head all morning...  How could I solve that particular problem?  I could...what if I...or maybe if I...  "I" was part of every solution I could imagine.  Yet clearly help was required for this item.

Please stand by, Michelle.  Help is on the way!

I don't always wait well (see above regarding self checkout).  I frequently wear myself to a nub trying to solve problems.  Sure, action on my part is usually required, but I'm a hamster on a wheel when I think I'm the source of the solution.

"Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act.  Don't worry..."

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me and he...heard my cry...lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire..."

"No one who waits for you will ever be put to shame."

Wait.  Patiently.  Don't worry.  Worry causes mire in my brain.  While I waited for the clerk...in that moment of stillness...that stillness I frequently avoid though my impatience...truth surfaced.

God was definitely speaking to me in that annoying and often grammatically incorrect android voice.  Help was required.  In that moment I determined to "stand by" and believe that "help is on the way."

That was five days ago...  At least half the solution has unfolded.  I have every reason to believe that if I continue to stand by, all the help I need will arrive.

It's kinda peaceful.

Psalm 37:7; 40:1-2 NLT

Psalm 25:3 GN

Joy!

In the '80s there was a really popular song called Don't Worry, Be Happy.  It was so catchy, so happy!  You couldn't help but love it and people loved to hate it.  It was often described as cheesy.  I'm not sure exactly why it's not cool to be happy...I think it might be another one of those lies we've been sold.


"Serious, calm, cool, and collected" didn't make it on to the list describing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Joy did.  That is not to say that there isn't a time to mourn and be comforted--it's just that mourning is not a defining characteristic of those who are filled with the Spirit of the Living God.


To be joyful does not necessarily mean to be obnoxious or silly (though it possibly may look that way to the uninformed).  As a fruit of the Spirit, it is accompanied by love, peace, patience, long-suffering, gentleness, and self-control.


Joy looks different on everyone.  I have an uncanny ability to laugh and/or cry when I'm filled with joy.  (It's not always pretty which is unfortunate.)  My beautiful friend Amy is a lot more quiet than I am, but she radiates.  My husband's eyes twinkle.  My daughter just has to spin around.  Joy in any form is unmistakable.


So is joy something we get randomly blasted with or must we conjure it up?


I can conjure it up once in a while.  When I've had enough sleep, the sun is shining, I've had my coffee, the kids are behaving, adequate amounts of chocolate have been consumed, no one has looked at me funny...  You get the idea.  Conditions are rarely optimal.


He gives it to us.  He came to give us "messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit."  Instead of.


So why can't I feel it sometimes?  Because I quench His Spirit within me. I forget to give thanks in all things.  I stop praising and begin fretting.  I pile on all kinds of burdens, complaints and worries.  I get my undies and my eyebrows in a knot.  (That's not pretty either!)  I've gotta lay them all down at the feet of Jesus and look into His love-filled eyes.  


Joy is the fruit of His spirit.  It's what naturally happens when we "abide in the Vine."


There is joy in His presence!


His joy gives us strength. 


Blessing you with the courage to lay down your burdens and trust in His promise of good plans for your life.  May you feel the strength-giving joy of His presence!


Joy is yours, it belongs to the children of God.  Don't let anything steal it away.

Is 61:3 MSG, John 15, Nehemiah 8:10

The Amaryllis

I have an amaryllis that I cut back every year after it blooms.  I put it in my root cellar until the next winter when I get it out and begin to water it.  This year it started to grow before I brought it out.

In the pitch dark.

Without water.

It's like it couldn't help itself--it just had to grow.

Now in these bleak, short winter days it sits on my table--glowing, vibrant and alive.  It is whispering mysteries that my heart grasps with hope, though my brain hardly comprehends.

This flower has grown from a corruptible seed--a seed that will really and truly die someday--and yet its life seems unquenchable.  How much more the life that's been planted inside me that is eternal and will never die?

Sometimes I don't feel very alive...  I'm mostly just trying to keep my head above water and this worries me...

However, what we feel isn't always the truth.

The truth is that His life makes us alive, it cannot be defeated.  Its glory cannot be contained.

The blazing red flower shouts of life and reminds me that it is the One who began the good work in my life who will finish it!  It whispers of rest--that He's got it all in His hands, Author and Finisher.  His Life within me will live and grow even in weary times or times of struggle.

For you have been born again,

but not to a life that will quickly end. 

Your new life will last forever because

it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

1 Peter 1:23

Molehills and Mountains

"When we make mountains out of molehills we create valleys for ourselves."
Kris Vallotton

Yep. Been there. Done that.

There's a small bump on the horizon and the mind instinctively kicks into...

What if...?

Maybe...

They might...

It could...

In fact, I'm pretty sure there have been times that I've made an art of it. And found myself in a valley.

I've lived in a valley before and I know this: There is a lot less sunlight in the valley than on a prairie or a mountaintop.

And so it is in the Worry Valley. A molehill becomes a mountain of my own making and it blocks out the light. In the gloom, the soul is suffocated and unsure. Depressed and anxious.

Much has been said about what Jesus might have meant when he said, "I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' it would move; and nothing will be impossible to you."

Whatever else He might have meant, I know this: When I declare to that mountain created by worry, doubt, insecurity and unbelief that it must move, that God's plans for me are good, that no weapon formed against me shall prosper, the mountain moves!!

And really, truly, nothing is impossible to me. Hope. Redemption. Reconciliation. Anything!

God can do anything, you know--
far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!
He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us,
his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Ephesians 3:20 MSG

Matthew 17:20

To Know Him

We've been having problems with our well. The pump in our well, to be exact. In any event, the result is the same: no running water for a few days. Inconvenient but not a disaster. I knew it was only a matter of time until it was fixed. I had no doubt. My kids on the other hand had a few "what ifs". What if Daddy can't fix it? What if he can't buy a new one? What if the new one doesn't work.

All of their "what ifs" had no power to shake my confidence. You see, I know my husband. I know he has the skills and resources to do the job. I wasn't concerned with how he'd do it. I wasn't concerned that he wouldn't take care of it. Not only am I aware of his skills and abilities, I know his character. I knew that because of his love for our family he would be hard at work to meet our needs. It wasn't fun waiting, but my job was patient trust.

I want to have the same kind of confidence in my Heavenly Papa. He has all the power and resources necessary to meet our every need, but we often become distressed and cry out, "What if...?!"

The Bible is full of reasons to believe. In the Old Testament we see His mighty power to save, deliver and provide. The New Testament is full of His compassion, mercy, love, and healing. Every page reveals His character. Our confidence grows as we become acquainted with His character. Inversely, it shrinks when we focus on the magnitude of the problem. A huge faith booster is telling and remembering your stories of what He has done and asking others to tell theirs.

When we keep our thoughts fixed on Him and His greatness our "what ifs" dissolve into peace. We begin to know Him. We can wait in confidence.

I don't know what you're going through today--it may be something I've never experienced, but I do know Him and I know He's worthy of your trust. He loves you beyond your wildest imaginings. What matters to you matters to Him.

Look up into the heavens.
Who created the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:26-31)