Unveiling Hope

Bad Seed Grows

I’m not much of a gardener. I love gardens; I just don’t have the patience to wait for growth. I have a tendency to focus on the weeds growing while I’m waiting on the good stuff.

I have this mental picture of the “old” me – a garden of sorts – filled with briers and dandelions with the odd daisy pushing up here and there. I don’t know why I ever visit that garden, but I do.

The Greatest Landscaper of all creation has been weeding out my garden for several years now. You’d think a person who has a professional “gardener” come in would just stop fussing and just enjoy the scenery, but no … not me. Of course, I do appreciate the garden and I certainly see the work He’s done, but to tell you the truth, I seem to spend far too much time focussing of the little weeds that seem to sprout from time to time.

That old serpent loves nothing more than to scatter bad seed in our fertile minds and then sit back as hope that we’ll choose to get out the watering can. Every gardener will tell you weeds will grow. You can spend hours and hours lovingly caring for your garden, but the next morning – or maybe the following day - you’ll surely find a little sprout that doesn’t belong there. The enemy will always sow bad seed, and bad seed grows. But having a weed or two in your garden doesn’t mean your flowers won’t blossom or your plants won’t produce fruit.

God has worked so hard healing the soil and sowing; He seems to be happy with His work. Maybe I should just sit a spell - rest in Him - appreciate His work and let Him worry about what He plants.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NIV.

May I Have The Big Piece?

Tell the truth now . . . you know you’ve wanted it. You know you were too shy to ask for it, but you wanted it . . . the big piece . . . whether it was pie or cake or lasagne. Maybe it wasn’t the big piece, maybe you just wanted a second helping. I remember those days with fear; asking for the big piece was a no-no, and asking for more was unspeakable.

How many of us have learned to ask for the smaller portion when we’re asked which piece we want? How many of us have taught our children the same less-is-more attitude? Where etiquette is concerned, perhaps taking the smaller piece or completely denying oneself is the right thing to do, but when we take that attitude and begin to apply it to all areas of our lives, how much are we missing? What are we giving up?

I have to admit that I have been carrying along this attitude for far too long and it is most noticeable in my spiritual life. Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened,” (Matt.7:7-8). I have come to realize that I behave as if I think that God is stingy or that He is waiting to rap my knuckles if I ask for too much. Well, I know He isn’t stingy, but I’ve lost that bold and trusting, carefree attitude I.

Surely, as a friend, a spouse, or a parent, if you had a big piece and a little piece of pie to share wouldn’t it be your good pleasure to give the other person the big piece? Don’t you just love to bless others, to be extravagant? So, does God. The Bible is replete with examples of His generosity and we are repeatedly reminded that He is our Father in Heaven so why are we so reluctant to ask Him for what we need, or want? It’s because we don’t come with our requests with a child’s frame of mind. We’re afraid we’ll be scolded or rejected for asking, or are we frightened that we’ll be disappointed by the answer? To scold and reject a child simply for asking is not the character of God though there are times the answer has to be “no”. Rest assured – Father knows best. I think I’ll “uncheck” my childlike attitude.

“For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, ‘I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in.’” Matt. 18:2 MSG.

Facing the Giant

Every human being, at some point in their life, will have to face a giant. Some of us will have to face more than one at a time. The worse giant anyone could ever have to face is giving up hope. The loss of hope is surrender on the battle field.

The Israelites faced the Philistines for 40 days. Every day, and every evening, that beastly giant Goliath came out and taunted them, he frightened them by his very size and arrogance. He persisted until they had lost hope. Even the valiant King Saul stood on the sidelines. Israel had all but raised the flag of surrender; their hope was lost.

In his youth, David had the answer; David had a fearless faith in the power of God. David looked upon the battlefield as fertile ground for God to manifest His glory. David ran toward Goliath with the very attitude that made him a man after God’s own heart. He had seen the hopelessness that had impaled Israel’s soldiers to ground.

What made him so sure that God would win the battle for him? He had a relationship with God – the intimate kind of relationship that doesn’t merely sustain faith and hope – the kind of intimacy that grows faith and hope. There would be no facing this giant alone. He knew that as he ran toward Goliath that the God of Israel had already gone ahead of him to secure the victory.

The size of the battle should not invoke fear. Wherever we are in the battle, whether it’s hidden in a foxhole or standing in the middle of the battlefield, God is waiting for us on the other side. God fights for us from victory; our hope is in Him alone.

‘David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."’ 1 Sam 17:45-47.

Approaching the King

An audience before royalty involves protocol. In the Book of Esther, we read of King Xerxes, “When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. Then the king asked, ‘what is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.’” Esther 5:2-3.

The Old Testament speaks addresses the protocol required when approaching the Tabernacle. In fact, not just anyone could approach, regardless of their status or position in life. Only the priests were permitted entrance to the Tabernacle and even then, they had a set of regulations that had to be followed prior to their entrance. Even at that, only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place. There was no scepter. There was no chance God was going to allow anyone to approach without following His protocol, that’s how Holy He is.

The fact that God is Holy hasn’t changed. Because He is Perfect and Righteous and Just, He cannot break protocol. He still has to be revered as Holy; He cannot be in the presence of ungodliness. But imagine a King who loves and longs for intimacy with His love that He does what only He can do to make sure that access to Him is always available; Jesus is the Scepter that God holds out to us, the Scepter that cleanses us in order to permit us limitless – infinite – access to the King who offers more than half His Kingdom, He offers Himself.

“Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty – he is the King of glory. Selah,” Psalm 24:10.

Damaged Goods?!

I had to return an electronic device the other day. The salesperson was unable to determine what the problem was. I had explained to him that I’m not technically inclined and that perhaps the problem was with me. “Damaged goods” he said. My eyes opened widely, my heart began to pound in my chest. For a brief moment, those words – while I knew were not intended to describe me – chilled me to my very core.

The drive home was quiet – no radio – just my thoughts. Those few moments in the store took me back to a time, less than six years ago, when I exchange my “life” for the Life of Christ who came to live in me. You see, before that exchange was made – my life for His – I had always thought of myself as damaged goods. In those first months after surrendering my heart to Him, I struggled with one recurring thought: why would He want me? I am damaged goods. I won’t try and pull the wool over your eyes, there are still times – however infrequent - when the enemy still tries to convince me that I was born damaged, I am damaged, and I will always be damaged. What does he know?!

God’s Truth tells me that I am not my circumstances – past, present, or future. My past sin does not define me; my future sin will not define me, nor do the sins committed against me define me. I am who I AM says I am.

God knew me before I was conceived. He knew everything I would do, think, say, feel … He knew that I would make many poor choices before choosing Him; He knew that there would be others who would make poor choices on my behalf. He knew my fears, my habits, my secrets. He knew I would reject Him. He knew I would reject those He loves. He knew that I would choose to please others before Him. BUT, He never focussed on anything other than His love for me. He loved me – He loves me - with an everlasting love. He let nothing stand in the way of His plans for me. His love and His promises are for all who choose Him regardless of the who, where, when, what, why and how.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart,” Jeremiah 1:5(a).

In Deed

From May 2007 until May 2009, someone I love very much was in a pit so deep that there were times – long periods of time – when he had no vision of being rescued. From his perspective, although he appreciated the support, it mattered little in the thick of the quagmire how many people were routing for him.

He had begun to question his very foundation; was it built on Rock or sand? Doubt was beginning to drown him and guilt, fuelled by the doubt, was the anchor pulling him down. How easy it is to tell someone to “have faith.” The truth is, unless we are going through the exact thing at the exact time, and under the exact circumstances, we can only begin to imagine what someone is living through.

What could I do? What can any of us do for others on our own? The only thing I could do was pray. And while I know that God heard my prayers – I also knew that when two or more are gathered, there He is. I began asking for others to lift him up in prayer without divulging personal and intimate details. Groups of people began praying for him; some he knew of – others he did not.

On September 21st, 2008 – someone spoke into this life – someone spoke life into this situation. A brother had a vision of the Lord reaching down into that pit and leading him into a bright future.

James (2:14-17) wrote that faith without deeds is dead. Believing that God can and wants to change a situation is faith. Uniting with others in prayer is a deed; giving encouraging words is a deed. Faith indeed. Faith in deed.

God is Great. God is Faithful. God deserves all glory; He did reach into that pit. He did pull out one that I love. He did give him a vision and is leading him into a bright future. God deserves all the glory.

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:13-14.

Hallelujah, Lord. To you be all the glory.

There's Always More

Last night it rained. I sat outside to enjoy it. I love the rain. I love the smell of the air and the sound of the rain rushing against whatever is in its path. I love to feel the cool water on my toes. As I sat on the step with my bare feet stuck out I thought “is this not God?” He alone is able to touch every sense He created in me with something as simple as rain. But with God, there is always more. It’s never enough for Him to merely touch our minds and senses. God wants to touch our hearts and souls at the same time.

As I enjoyed the freshness of the rain against my skin, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and thank Him. I thank Him for answered prayers and I thank Him for awesome love and blessings. When I opened my eyes, I saw a flitter of light, then two, then more. There they were – fireflies, or lightening bugs as some call them. They were magnificent to watch. I just knew in my heart that it was His way of telling me – there’s always more with Him.

Fireflies and rainstorms are the “more” to me – I appreciate His attention to the details that keep me in wonder. I’m in awe of His creation – all of it – from the complexity of the human brain to the simplicity of a firefly everything was made by Him – there is nothing that exists that He did not create. But just when you think you could not possibly be more moved, there’s always more.

“Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?” Job 38:33.