The Omni-God

God is good. I am so very grateful that such a simple and yet also profound statement is true, and that it never changes. In the past year or so, there have been many times things haven’t gone as I would like them to. I must admit, I often tend to complain in those times. But God has been ever so consistently (and patiently) pointing me back to the fact that He is good, no matter what.

God is also the same, wherever I am and whatever I am doing. Because He is so much BIGGER than anything in my microscopic blip of a life on the radar of eternity. And yet, at the same time, He cares. He sees our hearts, and He feels our times of joy and our times of pain. Wonder of wonders, He offers us a relationship with Him, and makes His power available to us. We can worship Him in every choice and action, anywhere in the world.

I thought about that last bit this past weekend. The Institute here in Uganda had the 14th and 17th off classes, so several people went on mini vacations for the four-day break. I joined a young couple in traveling to an island out in Lake Victoria, which was a huge blessing! As I sat on the shore of the lake or under a tree higher up on the island, I was able to once again come back to “base camp,” so to speak – to reorient myself again to what matters most.

God blessed me with a beautiful time of meditating on His Word and being able to worship Him, away from some of the routine of daily life that can so often distract me from focusing as fully on Him. And as I did, I was reminded of similar blessed times in Arkansas, N. Ireland, North Carolina, and even Dallas (it’s harder in the big city though…). It struck me more fully that no matter where I am, God is the same and He is just as present with and in me. That is simply amazing for my human mind to comprehend!

Because God is a good God, He is committed to bringing glory to Himself. In the past weeks, I have been reminded that one way He does this is by working in the lives of His children to conform them to His image (Romans 8:29). Because He is all-powerful, He can do just that. What’s more, He works in every situation so that—on an eternal scale—all things work together for the good of each one who loves God (Romans 8:28). Even in situations which do not seem ideal, He brings redemption and benefit.

I am so thankful for these truths, even though I so often lose focus and need to be reminded of them once again. God continues to point me back to Himself; and even if that is the only thing which I gain from what I am experiencing, it is worth it because He receives the glory and praise He deserves.

Whence Cometh Strength?

"The JOY of the LORD is your STRENGTH" - just saw that verse in a friend's FB photo, and it fits....so very well. Because it's true.

It's so easy to focus on the things that can drag us down. I've had a scratchy throat all afternoon. I hurt my ankle some again. But if that's where I choose to fix my eyes, I'll miss out big time.

The Joy of the Lord. What is the joy of the Lord? It's an easy answer in some ways. God created a world which, though it is now marred by sin, is still amazingly beautiful. The joy of the Lord can be seen in the butterfly feasting on the flowers outside of our dining hall. His joy shines in the happy voices of children and the glowing smile of the youngest Institute kid.

Of course, it's more than that too. The joy of the Lord is evident in every one of our lives when we remember to see it. He takes joy in Himself, and He takes joy in the work He does in our lives. He is overjoyed every time we look to Him. And He is always there for us, no matter how many times we've tried to live life on our own.

That verse, often quoted without reference to its context, comes from Nehemiah 8. The people of God had just been led into a time of repentance by God's servants Ezra and Nehemiah, and they were burdened by their sin. They had just heard God's law read to them, and they saw how far short they had fallen.

"Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'"

God had restored His people from exile into Jerusalem. They had just rebuilt the walls, and they had hearts and ears ready to hear anew God's commands and expectations. He worked in their lives, and He gave them His joy as their strength to move forward in repentance and revival. Notice that this joy came when they humbled themselves, placing their lives under the authority of their holy King.

Isn't our God marvelously gracious? :) All praise & glory to Him.

Beyond This Moment

Tonight, going through some old files, I came across one of my Word document rambles, written on March 3, 2012. I had never posted it, for some reason, though it had run in the campus newspaper as a column. Reading it, it was as though the Esther from 18 months ago--how much farther back that seems--was preaching to the Esther in the present. And it was a message I needed to hear.

For a bit of context, this older post came just a couple weeks before. Some things don't really change.... {sigh}

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I’m glad our college campus is located near a graveyard.  I don’t typically think about that fact, but this morning (March 2) I wanted to get out for a walk…a desire which ended up with me wandering through the cemetery on the roads.  It got me thinking (which really is a dangerous thing).

God has been working in my life a lot over the past 12-14 months – teaching/reminding me of many things about Him and about myself.  As I was meandering through the headstones spotted throughout the plot of land to our south, I couldn’t help but consider the question “What does my life really count for?”

Surrounded by stone monuments bearing the names of people who have lived and died—some more than a hundred years ago—it’s a relevant question.  There are probably few people who could tell you anything about some of the folks the older markers commemorate.  But they, like me, had hopes, plans, ambitions.  They, like me, probably had lives which they hoped to use to benefit the world somehow.

But for many of them, their only memorial is a slab of rock with some words chiseled into it.  So many people – so many stories – where does mine fit in the grand scheme of things?  My head knows the answer easily, and my heart echoes it with conviction: my life, as with each person’s, has some role to play in God’s grand plan.

I may not see it right now.  I may never understand it fully here on earth.  I will most likely end up someday like one of the people buried down the street – an unremembered name carved into stone which cannot even endure 200 years of weathering.  Nevertheless, my life does have a purpose.

But what is that purpose, I wondered as I walked, the cold wind blowing my face.  Life can seem so fleeting.  It comes and goes so fast – what am I doing that matters?  Throughout my walk, I noticed patches of small wildflowers which have sprung up with the wondrous coming of spring.  They too made me consider my life.

Those little flowers spend their whole existence trying to poke through the dead grass, searching for some sunlight.  Or they slowly develop from budded branches of trees.  They open up their small flower faces, for what purpose?  They may fall off of the tree and land on the ground, as the flowers I wore in my ponytail did.  Often, they get stepped on and trampled by beings much larger than themselves.  They may be eaten or simply shrivel up and die when their time is done.

And yet they bloom.  Their beauty is on display for those who take the time to see it.  And even if no person ever recognizes it, these small treasures serve a purpose: they carry on a gift to the next generation.  The Bible compares our lives to the lifecycle of flowers.  Isaiah 40:6-8 contrasts the transient nature of the plants with the everlasting Word of God.  In 1 Peter 1:22-25, Peter references the Isaiah passage and urges his readers to be incorruptible.

How?  What is it that I am called to do that will last beyond the short days of my life?

The answer is love.  And, surprisingly, this can be expressed using the lyrics of two pop songs, one old and one new.  Frequently when I listen to secular music, I find myself discovering a potential deeper, spiritual meaning.  Such is the case with these two.  Both were written to refer to sexual love (I would assume), but today they offered a broader lesson.

The first was “Who Wants to Live Forever?”, a 1986 song by the rock band Queen.  The lyrics remind the listener that people don’t live forever.  “Who dares to live forever?” the song asks, as it informs that “love must die.”  In the writer’s world view, that may be true.  But I believe that there is more to my existence than this brief life.  The love I have been given, I am to share with all people I come in contact with.  It then becomes like the little flowers – a gift that keeps on giving even when my short spring is over.

The second song that came to mind as I walked back to my last class of the week was Justin Bieber’s “I Just Need Somebody to Love.”  And there is some extent to which that is true.  I have been entrusted with a treasure, a gift.  To keep it to myself would be selfish and wasteful.  A self-preserving life is the epitome of a useless life.  I am called to follow in my Savior’s footsteps – to share the love which I have been given.

I don’t have to go out and change the world to make my life have meaning.  I do need simply to show individuals their importance and worth.  I am called to share God’s gift with others.  The rest is up to Him.