Tight Spaces

I don't know about you, but I don't like tight spaces! And long flights, over oceans, no leg room, no elbow room, no stretch space.... Ugh! And we volunteered for this!

I know what you are thinking. Why didn't we pay the extra for the sleeping seats? It would have only been a couple of extra thousand a piece. You only live once.

Needless to say, we are glad you weren't talking over our shoulders when we were purchasing the tickets. Who knows how high you would have pushed our budget. Do you work for the airlines?

I didn't expect too much luxury, and I wasn't disappointed. It is just a flight. It will be over soon. I have to keep telling myself these things as the hours tick past. The shower in Tokyo airport will feel so good. And then just one more three hour flight and we will be there.

The funny thing about life is that it is filled with tight spaces. Even people who purchase land in the middle of nowhere end up in tight spaces. Their wood supply runs short for the winter and it is still below zero. That is a tight space. They don't catch as much fish as they need, so their protein levels drop below what is needed to survive.

Or when the payments on the toys are due, and the money went for food. Tight space.

Or the job ends abruptly and no one is hiring. Tight.

You see, we must all learn to deal with tight spaces. God calls us to some tight spaces. When He points out some area of darkness in our life and asks us to open it up to His light, it can feel like He is breathing over our shoulder. It can feel like He is hemming us in on every side trying to get us to yield.

Sometimes as we follow the LORD the path becomes so narrow that we only have one option: move forward in faith. We can't move left or right and turning around can't happen. So we must continue through.

Psalm 23:4 speaks of the darkest valley, the valley of the shadow of death. It is a pretty dark place, an uncomfortable place, and perhaps a scary place. But the promise exists that He will be with us in those tight spots. Tight spots don't limit the infinite God's ability to be there. He doesn't take up much space, even though He fills the whole universe.

So as I sit in this seat, hemmed in on every side, my bride at my side, heading to a place we have never been to minister to people we have never met, we know we are right in the middle of God's will. We are excited to see how He will use these broken vessels to display His treasure.

2Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay
to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Lord, may you be seen. Hide us behind the glory of your presence. Please hide us, and what we  do, in such a way that people will see the Only One, Jesus our Savior.

Highlights

We often remember our lives through the "highlights," those moments when we felt the best. Or at least that is the way we would like to remember our journey. But for many of us we have some pretty painful bumps along the road. So what do we do when our "highlights" turns into "The Greatest Disasters of ...."?

It is very hard to not get consumed by the difficult things in life. Most of us have gotten sucked up into sadness, depression and perhaps even despair at some point in our lives. We allow our minds to drift between those painful moments as if flipping through the old photo album, turning pages almost out of obligation, feeling compelled to dive deeper.

One of the most powerful things we can do to keep our heads up in life is to follow the example of Scripture. The LORD instructed His people to "remember" repeatedly. They would be facing a time of uncertainty and change. The LORD would tell them to "remember" His faithfulness and take courage.

I think we all need a way to remember the highlights of our journeys. Perhaps today is the day to begin that list of things to remember. We can begin with Scripture and read of His faithfulness to His people down through history. Then we can take an honest look back and focus on those moments when the LORD showed up in our lives. Then we can gather the moments from others who are also traveling this pilgrim road.

But having the list is not enough. We must choose "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) We can move our minds. We can "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." (2Cor 10:5) We don't have to drift aimlessly in our thought life. We can take charge.

We are now eight days from our flight to Okinawa, eight days to a new adventure with Him. We could focus on the fourteen hour flight from Dulles to Tokyo, sitting in coach. Or we could see the faithfulness of the LORD to place a supportive community around us, ready to support our launch into the direction of God. We can choose to see His hand at work and anticipate His working through us. We can choose to remember the times when He showed up and received the glory, and get ready to pass the glory back to Him.

I say to you, "Remember!"

Praise in Despair

Psalm 22:16-31

          I don’t know if you have ever visited someone in the hospital in order to cheer them up, and came away more encouraged than when you arrived, but I have. You enter the room expecting to find someone very ill. You find that, but you also find that they are filled with joy and peace. And that joy and peace overflows in your direction. They have so many reasons to complain, but there isn’t a complaint in the room. There is no explanation for this seemingly incongruent attitude. We expect someone going through difficult times to be sad and complaining. So when we find someone who is filled with joy instead, we don’t always know what to do with it.

          Our psalm is filled with these types of incongruities. Our section begins with him expressing that he feels like those around him are like a pack of wild dogs, circling their next meal. They probe with a bite, and then withdraw. Hands and feet are easy targets for wild dogs, since they are often used to try to fight off the attack. So this attack is getting very personal and very dangerous. He is probably feeling as if it is only a matter of time before they eat him alive.

          Everything about this man is exposed. And they are ready to divide up what is left after the dogs have eaten their fill. If anyone had reason to reject the LORD’s goodness, it would be this man. If there exists a God of justice, certainly this would be the time to show up. And yet, this is not his plea. He doesn’t want an immediate escape. His first concern is for connection and strength. He does want deliverance, but he recognizes a greater purpose in his life.

          And that greater purpose is the glory of the LORD. He wants to make the LORD great in his life. He wants people to do the same. He wants to lift up the LORD. He could be shaking his fist in anger and resentment, but instead he is offering praise, because despite his current circumstances, he has confidence in the LORD’s goodness. He knows the LORD won’t let him stay in the mess.

          Somehow he is able to know the LORD’s character, and that character deserves praise, even if his present circumstances are dire. He calls on everyone everywhere to see the LORD for who He is and yield to His authority. He is in charge and we must all acknowledge it, even if our present circumstances might seem dire.

          So how we handle the dire circumstances that come into our lives does make a difference, both for us and those of this current generation, but also into the future. The way we express our faith and hope in the middle of the circling dogs can bring glory to God. But we must make the choice to allow His strength to be with us in those moments of greatest distress. We must look beyond the current struggle and see future generations and the ultimate consummation of everything. The LORD will be praised. What He has done, and allowed, will be understood, at least as much as we are capable of understanding, and we will offer worship.

Endless Demands

Mark 6:45-56

      How do you handle multiple, resource intensive interpersonal demand? Every mom of more than one child knows what I am talking about. Juggling the many “I need help!” and “Stop it!” cries that come throughout the day. Each child wants their own time and attention from you. And then you add on neighbors, coworkers, and family (both in-laws and outlaws) and the mix begins to take more from you that you thought you had in you.

      Those multiple interpersonal demands can be very draining. Now add a special needs child and the scale is completely tipped. Adoption and foster care pulls the plug on the bathtub of energy. Sometimes you just want to get away, to sit down and not be touched, to hear the quiet of the wind rustling leaves, to sip a glass of sweet tea in silence. But the demands of those around you just never seem to subside. There is always another voice pull you in.

      Jesus has tried unsuccessfully to pull His disciples aside for some rest and recuperation. He recognized that the demands of the crowd would soon drain them, so He tried to give them a break. They had crossed a lake only to be greeted when they landed by a very large crowd wanting to hear Jesus teach. They ended up being active participants in feeding 5000. And now the crowds are dispersing and Jesus sends them ahead of him to His next destination.

      Jesus pulls away by Himself to pray. If He can’t arrange for them all to get some time for prayer, He at least makes time for Himself. But the disciples haven’t had an easy night. They have been fighting the wind which is going the wrong direction for their journey. They have to fight its push every pull of the oars.

      Jesus sees their struggle and is going to pass by. What a curious reaction. Jesus saw them and then was going to pass by. Jesus doesn’t remove every struggle from our lives. Sometimes He passes by. He knows the struggle will bring something good into our lives. The strength we gain is better than the immediate relief of His intervention. Jesus leaves us in our struggle in order to bring about long term growth. The strength we gain by hanging in there in the middle of the struggle will be needed during a future testing, so Jesus passes by.

      But for the disciples in the boat fear grips them in that moment. They see the impossible, someone walking on water. Their explanation: a ghost. Their reaction: terror. Jesus’ response: calm the wind and get on board.

      And then the crowds gather and demand more time and energy.

Shallow Heart

Mark 4:16-17

      When difficult things happen to us in life it usually causes us to ask questions. The bigger the difficulty, the bigger the questions. When life and death things happen, we usually have questions about life and death. Before that point we might never have considered the really big issues in life. But once we are face to face with death and have asked the questions, then we know there must be answers out there, and we become open to suggested answers. Before that point, we didn’t even know there were such questions.

      Difficulties cause us to examine life in more detail. They get us thinking about and wrestling with some new subjects. The pain and sorrows often become the very things that help us to grow. They become the fertilizer and the moisture retainers that enable us to grow.

      Our text talks about seed dropped on rocky soil, soil that has never broken down enough to retain moisture. There has not been enough friction, freezing and thawing, weather and wear to break it down. Not enough has died and decomposed in the vicinity. There are not enough rotten leftovers to retain moisture.

      But notice what happens with the seed dropped on rocky soil. It immediately springs to life. These are often folks who get caught up in the moment and respond to an emotion. They are unable to accept the Word fully. They have no lasting power. They don’t have roots. They can’t weather any dry spells. They haven’t learned how to survive.

      They spring to life quickly and fade just as rapidly because they don’t count the cost. They have shallow understanding and short-lived commitment. They have not learned to expend energy to dig deep and expand their roots.

      Pain, sorrow, struggles and even death are necessary parts of life. But these are rejected by those who accept our modern society’s world view. We give pills for every type of discomfort. We work to avoid pain and sorrow. We exercise and botox to avoid any signs of aging. We segregate our elderly into “retirement communities” and “assisted living” facilities, so we don’t have to change our lives to face the reality of their death and ours. Our culture screams against these things, but these are essential for a deep spiritual life. Without roots the newly sprouted plant dies and remains fruitless. It never fulfills its design.

      These are the fire cracker Christians. There is lots of spark, motion and noise, but soon the fizzle out. They want to win the World, but don’t know how to walk their faith out through the inevitable spiritual dry times. They expend all their energy on what can be seen, and neglect the private spiritual disciplines of prayer and time meditating on the Word.

      As soon as someone challenges them, they give up. They don’t have any reserve. They are unlikely to become martyrs. If you want to read about some people who have learned to stand under trial, I want to encourage you to connect up with Voice of the Martyrs. This site shares modern stories of those who are standing under persecution. They have developed the roots necessary to continue even under the harshest of circumstance. They have asked the hard questions and found answers.

Turn Up the Heat

Proverbs 17:3

      Everything needs purifying. When gold and silver are taken from the ground they are part of larger rocks of many different kinds. Not only are these two minerals rare, but they both take time and energy to be extracted from their natural hiding places. Gold and silver bars don’t grow in nature. Humans must make them.

      Both metals must be ground to a powder and then heated to just the right temperature so that all the impurities float to the top where they can be carefully removed. Then more heat, impurities removed. More heat, impurities removed. This continues until the surface of the metals is shiny and can reflects the image of the one doing the refining. Then the metal is ready for forming and making.

      Our hearts are refined in the same way. There are seemingly crushing things that happen to us, things that give us the opportunity to look up and cry, “I can’t do this!” At that moment we can choose to trust the LORD. The crushing gets us ready to be purified. If we still hold onto impurities, more crushing is needed, otherwise too much heat is needed to extract the silver and gold, God’s image and character.

      Once we are crushed we are now relying on Him to carry us through. Gone are the self-deceptions that we can do it on our own, that we don’t need Him. We are crushed, remember. Then the LORD can begin to slowly raise the temperature to remove the impurities. This is a slow process, a deliberate process. The temperature must be carefully controlled. Things can explode if too much heat is applied too quickly.

      So it is with our lives. Once we become Jesus-followers the LORD begins purifying us. Sometimes He picks out obvious foreign materials from the crushed pieces, discarding them. But most of the time there is a careful process of raising the temperature, increasing the level of discomfort, until we rely on Him in every moment. When we do this, we are then able to step out and accomplish great things.

      So when you feel the heat being turned up, remember that He is looking down at our crucible, carefully monitoring the temperature, making sure we are OK.

The Land of a Thousand Excuses

Proverbs 15:19

      Do you know some folks who always have an excuse for everything? Maybe they have really bad luck, but often they are just lazy. They get in the habit of avoiding any movement at all by complaining about the difficulties they encounter along the way. First there was this problem, then this other problem popped up. They never have a clear path.

      And then there are other people traveling the same road, but they seem to avoid all the pitfalls. They sail right along. They get so much more accomplished. They become successful.

      Are thorns really able to hold someone back, keeping them from continuing their journey? Can’t you push your way through them? You may get some scratches in the process, pain that accompanies the journey, but in the end, thorns can’t prevent you from continuing. You could also go around, perhaps taking a detour, expending a little more energy and time, but still arrive at your destination.

      If you really want to get somewhere, you can find a way. Being familiar with the military, I know how to do Land Navigation. You are given a series of points on a map, given a compass and map protractor and told to find all the points, write down the specific ID for each point, and return to the starting place in a specific timeframe.

      Here in Georgia, land navigation can be especially difficult. This time of year the thorns are full grown, the swamps still have water in them, and it is HOT. It can be easy to see the points on the map and get discouraged as you pull yourself out of another tangle. And all the while the clock continues to tick. Every soldier in the military must learn how to do this. It is one of the most basic soldier skills.

      The best way to find the points is not to take a straight line between each one, but rather to find the points on the map and then use the roads to get as close to possible to those points before entering the think woods. You avoid many of the difficulties of the journey this way. But it requires thinking and planning in order for this to work.

      Next time you encounter a few thorns, push through, go around, but continue moving. It can be almost impossible to get moving once you stop. Discouragement can make your feet feel like lead.