Progression of Dependence

"The LORD is my strength and my defense;

he has become my salvation."

Psalm 118:14

As I came up out of the water, I had a feeling that something was different, that I was brand new.  In my young mind there was a hope for the future, a realization that I was made for more than simply living for myself.  I was excited about this great adventure that stood before me.  

I didn't start this journey of faith knowing completely of my great need for Jesus.  Instead, I had a vague inkling that something was missing, that I wasn't complete, that I needed more than what was in me.  I was drawn to Jesus as my salvation, but I didn't fully know the depth of my depravity, how much I needed His rescue.  Little by little, He shows me how desperately I need Him, how lost I am on my own.  There is a progression of my dependence on Him.

Discipline.  I have much to learn.  My wrong thinking, harmful habits, and destructive ways are exposed through hardships in my life.  God uses the tough times to root out what doesn't belong in me as His child.  The crises, suffering and painful experiences are like a chisel in His loving hand as He expertly carves away all that is impure and which distracts from Jesus (Hebrews 12:10-11).  As hard as it is to go through such discipline, God does not take me to the point of death (v 18).  Instead, He always leaves something to work with, a remnant upon which to build.

Nebuchadnezzar was a man who thought quite highly of himself.  In fact, he was so arrogant as the king of Babylon that he worshiped himself as if he were God.  As a result, God used a radical experience to humble him.  But as the prophetic dream foretold, he would not be completely destroyed, but a "stump" would be left upon which his new, humble life would be built (Daniel 4).  In Christ, there is always hope for such restoration.

As a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, I experience His loving discipline that works to make less of me and more of Him.

Open Gate.  At first I think it's something I've done right, a good choice I've made to get on the right path, a smart decision to follow Jesus.  As I'm humbled, I begin to see more clearly as the fog of my self-centered flesh is cleared away.  While I think I found the narrow path that leads to life, I come to realize that it was Jesus who made such a journey possible (Matthew 7:14).  Even though it was I who walked through the gate, He Himself is the Gate through which I enter onto such a sacred path of suffering, and it was His Light that illuminated the way (John 8:12, 10:7-10) .

Only the righteous walk there, yet I am welcomed, ushered through as if I belong.  How could this be? I wonder as I look at my own tarnished clothing.  But no, I am suddenly without blemish, white as snow, clean as fresh linen, cleansed by the blood of Jesus who is my salvation.  Through faith in Him I now belong.  I am saved from the old life, the destructive path.  The Gate that is Jesus was opened up to me so that I could enter through and walk on the Highway of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8).

As a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, I enter through the open Gate that leads me to a place I thought I'd never belong, where my sins are washed away.

His Hand.  Anteaters have a keen sense of smell.  While they have wonderful olfactory organs, there is only one thing they care to sniff out with their unique snouts and that is their delicious diet: ants and termites.  These funny-looking creatures can eat up to 35,000 of the tiny insects each day.  I guess you could say they only have noses for bugs.

In the same way that the Anteater can quickly hone in on their tasty meals, I can become just as adept at recognizing God's hand at work in my life.  As I grow closer to Him, I begin to see how prevalent is His work.  It comes to my attention that it has really been Him all along who has beautifully orchestrated my life, guiding me toward the Truth and overflowing my life with the good things I didn't always recognize as beneficial.  It was Him all along.  I thought I played a role, but I am completely at His mercy, quite a good place to be!

As a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, I begin to develop my ability to see the scope of God's handiwork throughout my life, leading me to rejoice in Him!

I began the journey with Christ as an ignorant babe who foolishly thought I was pretty good on my own, just needing a bit of help now and then.  As I am taken through periods of discipline where my sinful ways are purged, I find the rocky path difficult to negotiate but grow more and more sensitive to God's good work all around me.  As I follow this progression of dependence, I rejoice in my position as His helpless child who is dearly loved by her Father.  He has become my salvation.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to walk through the rocky path He will use for His glory.

When do I fail to see His handiwork, only seeing the harshness of life?

How am I ignorant of His lifelong romance as He gently and lovingly led me toward life?

Set Free

"Let those who fear the LORD say,
   'His steadfast love endures forever.'

  Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
   the LORD answered me and set me free.
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
   What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side as my helper;
   I shall look in triumph on those who hate me."

Psalm 118:4-7





 Artificial diamonds can be made by subjecting graphite to intense temperatures and pressures along the lines of 1700 degrees Celsius and 60,000-100,000 atmospheres.  This is equivalent to about 700 times the amount of pressure exerted on the Earth's crust by Mt. Everest.*  It takes a lot of pressure to create a diamond, but they are considered to be one of the most beautiful of gems.

My life is filled with stress and in fact, pressure is a part of modern life.  If I consider the time constraints, financial limitations, health restrictions placed on my life, coupled with the relational difficulties found in loving people and just my general exposure to an evil, dark world, I have a formula for stress.

The pressures of my world will not go away, but I have a secret weapon at my disposal to keep stress from controlling my life, sending me into a frenzy and ruining my health.

Call=Answer

Humans have been under stress ever since the fall of man, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered His perfect creation.  As a result, I am now hard pressed on every side, just like that piece of graphite in the process of becoming a diamond. 

But I am not without hope.  When I call on God, He will answer me.  God told his people who were exiled to Babylon, living as foreigners in a strange land and under tremendous pressure that, "you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you." (Jeremiah 29:12-14a)

When the stress if overwhelming and I cry out to the Lord, He answers. 

Set Free

When God answers me, it is not with mere words of consolation.  He goes even further and sets me free from the bondage of worry, grief, anger, or any other stress that is threatening to break me.  I am not bound to these stresses!

Jesus came to His creation in order to set me free from the bondage of sin.  The stresses generated by an imperfect world threaten to rule me.  But Jesus said, ". . . if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

It makes me think of a giant trash compactor.  I am trapped inside as the walls close in on every side with no hope of escape.  Then, I call upon the name of the Lord, and He sets me in an open space, free from the constraining walls.

I can live as if I'm in that open space, free from the stresses of this world, not because there is no stress, but because He is greater than the stress.  I can trust Him to save me from the great pressure upon me, but I have to call on Him.

When He answers me, He sets me free.  Will I trust Him?

His Presence=No Fear

Trusting God means acknowledging that His presence and power in my life are greater than all the things I have to fear.  Death?  He's overcome it.  Failure?  He looks at my heart, not my production value.  Loneliness?  He will never leave me or forsake me.  Loss?  My life and everything in it belongs to Jesus, it's not mine to lose.

Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed in his first inaugural address of 1933 to a nation plunged into the depths of a Depression that, ". . the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."**  He may have had a point.  Fear can be my greatest enemy, driving me to perform desperate, foolish acts, sending me into a state of panic where my decisions are frenzied and without reason, and taking a toll on my physical health. 

It has been said that fear is the absence of faith. And without faith, it is impossible to please God!  When I give in to fear, I am sending the message that not only do I not believe God can save me, but I don't even believe He exists!  If I truly accept as true that He exists, then I must recognize that He is bigger than anything I can face. 

If I trust God, I will not fear.

Stress is a part of life that cannot be avoided.  But as a follower of Jesus, it does not have to rule me.  I can call on the Lord and He will answer me.  When He answers, He sets me free from the sin that pressures me.  And in His presence, I have nothing to fear.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I can live my life as one who has been set free.

How am I living as a slave to fear?

Where am I not trusting God for deliverance?

*http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1998/IleneWeintraub.shtml

**http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057/

photo from   salsolastock.deviantart.com

This is the Day

"The stone the builders rejected
   has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this,
   and it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day the LORD has made;
   let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24



There is a lot of rejoicing going on at Christmastime.  The angels brought good news of great joy to the shepherds culminating in a concert performed by a choir of angels singing praises to God.  Rejoicing in this news, the shepherds joyfully visited the baby lying in a manger and left glorifying and praising God for what they had seen and heard.  Simeon, a man at the temple who was filled with the Holy Spirit, praised God when He held the Christ child eight days later,  as did the prophetess Anna when she recognized the Messiah and told everyone about the redemption that was coming through Jesus.  Magi from the East were overjoyed when they saw the star which heralded the birth of our Savior, and they followed it until they came to the place where He lay in order that they could worship Him.

Many of us are joyful at this time of year, but most of the reasons we use to celebrate have nothing to do with that first Christmas, over 2000 years ago!  The best motivation for a party lies hidden in filthy borrowed stable, visible only to those who are watching and paying attention. 

A capstone is the final piece laid in the making of a stone wall or structure.  It is formed to certain specifications in order that it can be placed exactly according to the blueprint, thus completing the masonry project.  There is surely great rejoicing as the final stone in slid into place, bringing to an end months of planning and labor. 

In Luke 20:9-17, Jesus revealed himself as the capstone referred to in Psalm 118.  After years of prophecies telling of the coming of a Messiah, and of countless deaths of those who came to tell, the time had finally come to complete God's plan by sending His own Son to take the punishment for the sin of all mankind; a reason to rejoice, indeed!

Rejected  Not everyone rejoices at the fulfillment of so many prophecies in the birth of a baby born to a young girl.  But, as Paul taught in I Corinthians 1:18, ". . . the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  Jesus is rejected by many as the rightful King of all Kings.

God's Handiwork  Only a Master Planner could formulate a blueprint in which the final piece would fit perfectly.  This is what God has done in sending Jesus to take our punishment so that I might live forever with Him.   It is completely a work of God's mighty Hand.  We cannot even recognize our need for Jesus without God's work in our lives.  Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." (John 6:44)   Additionally, salvation is offered freely to us by God.  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)  The Lord has done this!

Marvelous  George Gershwin penned a song called "s' Wonderful" whose chorus goes like this:

'S wonderful ! 'S marvelous !
(That) You should care for me !
'S awful nice ! 'S paradise !
'S what I love to see !

As you listen to the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald sing this classic, think of how marvelous it is that God should care enough for you that He sent His Son!

This is the day when I can celebrate that the One who was rejected by many has been sent by God to save us.  How marvelous: that gives me something to rejoice about!

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will remember to rejoice in all that God has done.

How often do I forget the miracle of Jesus?

When do I find myself replacing the humble manger with other things at Christmastime?