Just Keep Swimming

Just Keep Swimming

            Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence? Psalms 139:7

Imagine a fish swimming through the ocean. It swims through calm tidal pools and into underwater caves. It swims through reeds and kelp and darts past predators. It takes its food and its oxygen from the water. It would be absurd for the fish to ask, “Where is the water”? The water is all around and even in the fish. If the fish said, “There is no water here”, it would not make it true. The water provides the nourishment, refreshment and hiding places the fish needs.

Similarly, God is all around an even in us. He gives us shelter from the storm. He is with us in the hard times and the good times. Today was one of the hard times and I just wanted to crawl into a spiritual underwater cave and not come out. I was tempted to believe that God has left me in my pain, but I  know that He has not. The psalmist says,

            Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.   Psalms 139

                If you are swimming through dark, murky waters right now, take courage. You may be tempted to question where God is, but he is in you and all around you. Ask Him to give you eyes to see and ears to hear.

Do You See What I See?

Welcome to Unseen today.  Today's post takes a different angle of looking at things.  Instead of looking at ourselves as unseen people, we take a look at the things that are unseen. Read on

Do You See What I See?

 

We fix our eyes on what is unseen, not on what is seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. 2 Cor 4:18

 

When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. Many Friday nights I would spend the night with them. They had an amazing assortment of interesting gadgets. These often occupied my attention while they were watching Lawrence Welk and Heehaw.  There was a covered wagon made out of pewter, a box of “rattlesnake eggs” (a noise making gag toy), and an Emmet Kelly doll. One of my favorite things at their house was a triangular prism. I loved to hold it up to different kinds of light and see the colors it unlocked. The window, the light fixture and the television all had their own special rainbows. I would walk around the house with the prism up to my eyes just to enjoy the interesting perspective. It showed me things that I couldn’t see otherwise.

            The same thing is true in our spiritual lives. We look at the things we see around us and often see hurt and injustice. This is a fallen world, and whether through consequences of our own actions, spiritual warfare, or whatever reason, there is a lot of suffering. It is much more difficult to find the hand of God in these situations. This Sunday was the day after Christmas, and in church we read about Herod’s murder of the innocents. The preacher admitted to sometimes skipping past this difficult passage, and I understand. It raises some difficult questions.  What kind of monster kills hundreds of children just to eliminate one? Why would God allow it? Where was the justice? He went on to show how God did work through the situation, not only in sparing Jesus life, but also by working in the bigger picture. One of the things that he said is that even in terrible circumstances, God is present. Also, there are forces at work that we cannot see.

            I know that in my life there are things in my life that are not as I want them. I am personally dealing with hurt and injustice. I can see though, that God is blessing me even in the midst of my trials. In many cases, the blessings are not in material things or in circumstances changed that I can see. Instead, they are the blessings of watching my teenagers learn to reach out to God and accept the faith that we have tried to instill in them. They are the blessings of God’s sustaining grace in my storm. Looking back I can see how things lined up for God’s glory and my good. The storm is not over yet, but God is still in it with me. 

            It is so easy to look at the mountains in our lives and become discouraged. Instead let us remember what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17 and 18:

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more     exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 

            Just like the prism was able to reveal things I could not see due to the physical limitations of my physical eyes, so the Holy Spirit can reveal things that I cannot see because of my limited spiritual eyes. Take heart and learn to see the things that are unseen in your own life and the lives of others

Good morning. Today's post goes to the heart of the feelings of living unseen - the fear and loneliness we experience. Read on.

Remember Me?

	"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Is 49:15 When I was little I had a good trait that worked against me. I didn’t make a lot of noise. Consequently, I tended to be overlooked. One of my family’s favorite stories on me happened when I was about 2 or 3. We were at my aunt’s and I had gotten locked outside. I knocked and no one heard me. I called and no one heard me. Finally, I stomped my foot and yelled, “Somebody let this poor baby in!” I got in then. A few years later we were at my grandmother’s house. In the carport she had a great walk-in storage closet. It smelled like dust, turpentine and musty fishing nets. My brother and I were playing jail. We would lock each other in the closet and then come back in a minute to unlock the door. The problem was that my brother was in preschool and his attention wandered. He went into the house, got a drink and promptly forgot about our game and about me. After waiting a few minutes, I called out, and then started knocking on the door. The problem was that when he went in, he shut the storm door so no one could hear me. I thought I was knocking hard but apparently not. If I remember correctly, I was trying to figure out how long the air in the closet would last. After what seemed like half an hour, but was probably only a couple of minutes, someone went to the car for something and heard me. I can’t describe the joy and relief of hearing that lock turn and seeing a familiar face. Apart from the obvious lesson of “never play ‘jail’ with a four year old”, what can we learn from this? How many times have you felt like your life was a game where God and everyone else had gone for a snack and forgotten about you?  Do you feel that way today? This month has been very frustrating and the harder I tried to fix things the worse they got. Today was a rare lazy day. I spent some time just being and some time being still. (Psalms 46:10) God reminded me that he has been with me all the time and showed me how he has brought good out of my latest trial. Most importantly, he showed me that he has not forgotten me. At a time when I didn’t feel that God was personally interested in me or my life, he sent a preacher I barely knew to our Sunday School class. In front of the class, he took my hand in both of his and said, “God has not forgotten you and he has more for you than you ever dreamed of.” I cried, because that is my MO, but I was also encouraged enough to look for promises. Besides Jeremiah 29:11 and Is 43:1, I found this verse in Is 49:15. "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! The enemy would love for you to believe that when the good shepherd was counting the sheep, he said, “98, 99, oh, that’s close enough for government work.” Don’t you believe it. You are his precious child and he will never leave you or forsake you.

Empty Tanks

When we live unseen, we often run low on emotional energy. It is easy to try and get our tanks filled from places that are less than effective at best and downright dangerous at worst. If God can speak through a donkey, He can give us a lesson from a car. Read on.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Rom 15:13

     The gas gauge on my car is a little cantankerous. For the first ¾ of a tank it drops slowly and steadily. Then, it takes a nosedive. I have left town before, thinking I have plenty of gas to get where I am going. Along comes the nosedive. First the light blinks on. If I am paying attention and if I am where I can, I should fill up at this point. If not, after a few minutes, the light comes on and stays on. If I am not where I can get gas soon, my stomach starts to tighten. Then I notice I am gritting my teeth. I may start to grip the steering wheel tighter. If someone is with me, they notice I am being short with them. If I still have not heeded the warning, the car stutters. By this point, I either need to find a gas station in the next few feet or a place to pull off the road.

    Probably all but the most organized of us have been in this situation. We know how to prevent it (keep the tank filled up) and we know how to deal with it when it happens (call for help). Some of you have been on the receiving end of those calls from me. What about our spiritual tanks, though? How many times do we try to minister, or even just live, with out spiritual tanks empty?

    Just like with gas tanks, there are warning signs. Maybe temptations are harder to resist. Maybe it is harder to be joyful. Maybe is it harder to meet with the body or to read our bibles. I hear the familiar chorus from my youth. “Who cares what you do? You are not making a difference anyway?” the reactions are often very similar. My temper is shorter. My tightened stomach and gritted teeth show evidence of worry. Just like our cars can end up on the side of the road, if we ignore the warning signs we may end up in the spiritual wilderness.

    We need to learn to see the signals that show us we are running out of spiritual fuel. Just like with our vehicles we also need to know how to prevent the problem. We do this by operating in God's power and not ours. We need to be in the word regularly and we need to be in fellowship.

    In care we run out of spiritual gas we need to go to the right source to get it. A few weeks ago I pulled up to a roadside station to feed the car. It was 5:59 when I pulled up to the pump. They close at 6:00. Seeing me pull up, the owner closed the door and locked it. Fortunately I made it home. We are just as likely, though to try to meet our spiritual needs using unreliable means. We may try to fill an emptiness that is from needing God with drugs, chocolate, or people.

    Let's help each other stay filled up. Pray for each other and encourage each other. If you get a call from a friend who is stranded in the spiritual wilderness, please answer.

Lord, help us look to you for our spiritual and physical strength and not to things that cannot satisfy.

THINK ABOUT IT What are the signs for you that your spiritual gas tank is running on low?  or  What unreliable gas stations have you used to fill your tank?

Freedom

Welcome to Unseen today. This has been a week of dealing with spiritual warfare, a common thing among people who live unseen. Read on to see what I learned about freedom and victory this week.

Freedom

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph 6:12

My sister told me a story about an adventure her friend had as a little girl. She and her siblings grew up in Perryton, Texas and had sweet family dogs. One day the kids and the dogs were out  in the front yard playing. The dog catcher pulled up in the truck and whistled for the dogs. The unsuspecting dogs ran to her whistle and she locked them in the truck and took them to doggy jail.  The children were devastated, but the family did not have enough money to bail the dogs out. The pound in Perryton had a fenced run for the dogs so the family could visit and pet the dogs, but not get to them. The dad was fond of alcohol and the night before the scheduled execution for the dogs, he was fueled up. At midnight, he turned on the lights in the house and said, “Kids, let’s go get them dogs!”  He loaded the kids up in the pickup and drove to the pound. He attached a logging chain to the gate and pulled it off its hinges, setting free not only their dogs, but all the dogs in Ochiltree County.  The next morning, the dogcatcher was at their door asking if they knew anything about a break in (and break out) at the pound. They steadfastly denied any knowledge of it and said that the dogs had just showed up.           

            Have you struggled to free yourself from damaging thought patterns or habits? Do you have a loved one who is in need of deliverance from a spiritual struggle?  Maybe you have tried to use logic, threats, bribery or will power to deal with these issues. These may have been successful for a while, but more than likely, the issues crept back in before long.  These efforts are ineffective because they are not aimed at the root of the problem.  Would it have been successful if the children had tried to break one chain link at a time in the fence? How about if they had tried to burrow through the concrete in the dog run? What if they had tried to plead with the dogs to come out or threatened them if they didn’t? Even though it was technically a bad idea to tear the gate off the dog pound, it was effective because it addressed the underlying cause of the problem.

            Ephesians talks about the struggle we endure in our spiritual life. In Ephesians 6:12 we read, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Is it any wonder that our best human efforts are ineffective in this battle? Fortunately, Ephesians does not leave us there. It goes on to tell us about the armor we have to protect us, including the belt of truth and the shield of faith. It also tells us about the very powerful weapons that we have at our disposal- prayer, and the sword of the spirit. Don’t go into battle for yourself or your loved ones without your armor or your weapons. The final instruction in Ephesians 6 says, “Then having done all, stand. Let’s remember today to fight the right battle with the right weapons and the right commander.

Frog and Toad

When we live unseen, we get a warped perspective of growth, both ours and others. Today's post show's lessons that I learned from two of my favorite characters in children't literature.

Frog and Toad

I planted. Apollos watered, but God gives the increase. 1 Cor.

            In my family we love the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel. They are funny and have good lessons. In one story Frog and Toad decide to surprise each other by raking the leaves. They each secretly go to the other’s house, rake the leaves and come home unseen. On the way home, the wind whips the leaves around and each friend returns home to his own yard full of leaves, but happy in the knowledge that the other will not have to rake. Another cute episode involves the two friends making cookies. They eat several and decide it is time to quit. Then they need one last cookie, one very last cookie and one very, very last cookie. I can relate to that. Probably my favorite Frog and Toad story is about the garden.  Frog decides he wants a garden. He plants the seeds, stands back and says, “Grow, seeds. Grow.” When that doesn’t work he decides maybe the seeds can’t hear him and yells, “Come on, seeds. Grow.” Toad informs him that the seeds need water and sunlight. He waters them and makes sure they have plenty of light. He sings to them. He talks to them. He reads poems to them, and even takes the torch out at night so they won’t be afraid to grow. Finally he is worn out and falls asleep in the garden. When Toad wakes him up, there are tiny seedlings poking out of the dirt.

            I know we don’t do that to our gardens, but what about our spiritual life? Are we impatient with ourselves when we do not develop or grow as quickly as we should? One of the enemy’s favorite taunts is, “You should be further along than this by now.”  How about when we are working with others? Do we become frustrated with those we are witnessing to, or with baby Christians, when we don’t see change? Have you ever watched your children and thought, “Grow, seeds, grow!” Even worse, I have worked with people before and they either just didn’t get it or they slid back into old behaviors. Then someone else comes along and works with them, and they get it. I am tempted to wonder what the second person had that I didn’t. Did I not explain it well enough? Was I too easy or too hard on them?

            The truth is that with plants and in life things take time and development. Plants have to be planted, have water, sunshine and fertilizer. Sometimes the same gardener does not do all the work. The Corinthian Christians were having tension because some of them had been taught by Paul and some by Apollos, and felt they should follow one or the other. Paul explained to them that it was God who produced the growth, no matter who was involved in the process.  When we hear the gospel the seed is planted. As we spend time in the word, in fellowship and in prayer, we water the seed and it grows. Trials in life provide fertilizer that God can use to help us grow. We cannot measure our growth or others’ growth by someone else’s progress or by a timetable.  We measure growth by how much we look like Jesus. Also, we cannot take blame or credit for someone else’s growth or lack of growth.

 God is the master gardener. He knows the exact amount of sunshine, rain, fertilizer, songs, poems and torches we need to grow.  

Grace notes

Welcome back to unseen. I hope my technical difficulties are under control now. Today's post is an excerpt from my new book, Grace Notes. It is available on Amazon and at Author House bookstore. (Shameless plug). When we live unseen, dealing with the struggles of daily life can blind us to God's surprising blessings. Read on to see the lesson I learned about this from music

Grace Notes

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

I love music. I love to listen, I love to sing, and I love to dance. Music can take to places that nothing else can. It can calm your soul when you are hurting and it can give you a way to celebrate when words are not enough. There are different elements of music. The first is melody. This is the tune or the lead line.  The second is harmony. This consists of notes that are different than the melody but work together to make it richer.   There is a third element that not everyone is familiar with. These are called grace notes. They are “extra” notes. They are not even written into the main line of the music. They are smaller and are often found at the top of the staff. They consist of runs and descants that make the music even more full and rich.

Our lives are like music. They too consist of melody, harmony and grace notes. The melody of our life is our walk with God and the purpose that he has given us. The rhythm varies and the key may change from major to minor and back again, but God has written the music of our lives and directs it. Harmony in our lives consists of the people we walk with through our lives.  Other people bring fullness to our lives and make it more exciting, even though there may be discordant notes. You may wonder if God really wanted you to play with the people he put in your family or church. Again, God directs the symphony of our lives. Then there are the grace notes in our lives. These are the surprises that God has for us. They may be times when we are down and a friend calls out of the blue.  It may be a friend you meet unexpectedly who turns out to be a mainstay in your life. It could be that something you do for fun, like music or writing or drawing, turns out to be used by God to touch others. Even better are the times when you are spending time in worship or prayer and the God of the universe comes to meet with you. There are so many things in my life that have been more than I imagined.

In this life we have an enemy. The word says he comes to steal, kill and destroy, but God says that He comes that we might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10) In Ephesians He tells us through Paul that He can do exceeding, abundantly beyond all that we can ask or even imagine.  The God of Heaven and earth is our Father. He has chosen us as His children and wants to have relationship with us and lavish His love on us. Let’s look for the grace notes in our lives, whether in sunsets, phone calls, or other ways that God chooses to speak to us and point them out to others, too.