“There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. He [God] wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them. Your patient will, of course, have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the Enemy’s will. What the Enemy means by this is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him – the present anxiety and suspense. It is about this that he is to say ‘Thy will be done,’ and for the daily task of bearing this that the daily bread will be provided.”
Senior Demon Screwtape to Junior Demon Wormwood, C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
“…the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.”
Romans 9:33 (footnote to Isaiah 8:14, 28:16)
Rarely does a sermon, Bible lesson, or a daily devotional not mention some iteration, backstory, or combination of the notion of trusting in Jesus completely while not trusting in ourselves at all.
This is pervasive, standard issue, Christian advice. With Christ living in our own individual Christian hearts, we hope Jesus will help us to shine His light of love, caring, and compassion out into the external world. I can’t help but notice, though, that His bright light also shines into all my own internal darkness. And further, that while His holy light shining into my soul illuminates my sin and error, it doesn’t automatically fix them.
I doubt I’m alone in that observation.
Non-believers in Christ, quasi-believers in Christ, errant believers in Christ, and atheists against any notion of God have the same problem but don’t realize it. Our human default mode – also a sure sign of our fallenness – is that we are ordained to trust ourselves first: “I believe in me.” Then, once we are rich, smart, good looking, and healthy, we feel competent to demand of God why He allows adversity and injustice: “You, God, can fix everything. That’s what the Bible says. So … fix it.”
In my experience, the folks who least understand the Bible and Jesus are often the quickest to blame God for their troubles, trusting Him as nothing more than a temporal Mr. Fix-It. This isn’t a case of a broken light switch; it is a case of blindness to God’s love, truth, goodness, and ultimate mission of Jesus Christ on earth: God’s glory.
Developing the faith to outsource trust onto something we know but can’t see is a sign of a mature Christian. Thinking that the grasp and surety of my faith are a function of my ability to put my trust “in” myself and my intellect presents a contradiction of a fairly high and eternally damaging magnitude: We think we are the light. No.
Christians spend all this time talking about how much they trust Jesus as their savior, and spend almost as much time worrying about whether they are really saved. I believe this is the manifestation of the tension we feel between the light of Christ shining outwardly vs. inwardly: of His true worthiness vs. our true unworthiness.
It’s also a telling gauge of trust: What’s harder to trust than that Jesus would save even a sinner like me? Being Jesus’s light out into the world while dealing with, addressing, and feeling the shame of what that light makes us see within ourselves seems, at the very least, a bit of a stretch. Yet, it is the most profound dynamic of hope:
Peace, trust, and deep faith come upon us when we realize it’s all the same light.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) figures our fallenness is all the same; it’s just easier to judge the world’s than our own. Good tip: read the surrounding context in the Bible verses listed up top. “Fool” and “shame” describe permanent, not temporary afflictions. May we endeavor to be neither in the New Year.For more of Walters’ columns, see commonchristianity.blogspot.com. For his books, see www.lulu.com/spotlight/CommonChristianity.
Though the mountains may be moved into the sea Though the ground beneath might crumble and give way I can hear my Father singing over me “It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay”
Tasha Layton, “Into the Sea“
Many of you have followed our journey over the past year concerning my husband’s health. Steve was exposed to a concentrated amount of mold that landed him in the hospital last fall with double fungal pneumonia. Fast forward to 2020 and a pandemic. After many conversations with his pulmonologist and infectious diseases doctor, we knew COVID would be devastating, even deadly for Steve.
Under Steve’s doctors’ advice, we chose to quarantine before it was a thing, practiced social distancing if we had to make office visits, and masked up when getting out was a necessity. We did all the right things to protect Steve’s health. We thought we were safe until we weren’t.
On October 30, I received a call that we had been exposed to someone with a positive COVID test. Our world began to spin with questions, concerns, even fear. We immediately called Steve’s doctor to formulate a plan of action should things spiral down quickly. And they did.
By November 1, he was symptomatic, and by Nov 3, we were both full-blown COVID. We tried to battle it out at home, taking cues from the doctor. But when you can no longer breathe, your fever will not let up, and one small step leaves you laid out on the floor, it is time to acknowledge this is not something you can push through without help.
On November 9, we fell into our car and prayed our way to the ER. We said, “I love you,” a dozen times on the way to the hospital. When we arrived, I watched my sweetie labor to walk the long hospital corridor alone. I sat slumped over the steering wheel until I couldn’t see him any longer.
I took a breath and whispered, “Oh God. Take care of my sweetie. And get me home safely.” God must have sent a battalion of angels to usher me home. When I arrived, my head collapsed onto the steering wheel, and my body shook with sobs. Did I get him there on time? When will I see him again? Will I see him again?
As I wept, a song played gently on the radio, a song that forced me to look at our storm through the lens of eternity.
It’s easy to sing When there’s nothing to bring me down But what will I say When I’m held to the flame Like I am right now? I know You’re able, and I know You can Save through the fire with Your mighty hand. But even if You don’t My hope is You alone.
MercyMe, “Even If”
In that sacred moment when eternity kisses the earth, and you see life for what it really is, God asks me a question. “Will you praise me no matter the outcome?” This was my “even if” moment. Do I really believe God is good? Can I trust Him when I cannot see the light for the next step? Is he working and moving in ways that are bigger than my temporary trials? Will His extravagant grace and holy love breathe life into hopeless situations?
By now, my tears flow uncontrollably as I find the strength to lift my hands and squeak out the words, “Even if you don’t, my hope is you alone.”
Steve was admitted to ICU that evening. The doctors said had I not brought him in, he would not be with us today. Three days later, another trip to the ER, and I was admitted with COVID induced pneumonia.
For several days Steve’s life teetered back and forth, while my oxygen levels prevented me from barely taking two steps. Both tethered to oxygen; we found hope in the truth that our very breath is not of our own making. It is in God that we live and move and have our being. Each step I was forced to take in the dark of night, I would clutch my hospital gown and pray, “Father, it is your breath in my lungs that moves me. So, I look to you to fill me with your breath, and I will pour out my praise to you only.”
Steve and I have weathered many storms. But both confess that this has been one of the darkest times. We have been stripped of all the securities we hold so tightly in this life and are being given the gift of learning that Christ is enough. All else pales in comparison to His glory.
After a week in the hospital, we are now home recovering. We have repeatedly been told it would be a long, slow, steady recovery that cannot be rushed. We are finding this to be true. Simple tasks that we once took for granted require so much effort. But we are finding God to be faithful, His grace more than sufficient, and His wrap-around presence healing balm for our tired souls.
I share this with you in hopes that you will find some comfort in knowing that the same God who is walking us through this is at work in your life as well. He loves His children and longs for us to know Him intimately. Unfortunately, the depths of His love are often revealed through the sorrows of life. We all encounter seasons when we are backed against the wall, with no escape plan in view, just darkness. That is when we feel His nail-scarred hand on our shoulder, hear Him whisper “I am with you,” and catch the unforced rhythm of His heartbeat gently guiding us along.
Hope for the Journey is a weekly devotional, sent out to my subscribers, and the space where I share my journey about finding God in the struggles of life. If you would like to join the journey of discovering hope no matter the circumstances, I would love to have you along. Just sign up here: Hope Journey.
“I’ve stacking up the years I spent trading punches with the enemy Built myself a double thick stone tower of lies, higher than the eye could see Trapped in my flesh & bone Crying out to You Lord, I’m desperate Love, come rattle this cage and set me free
“All of my fears, like Jericho walls, Gotta come down, come down All of my fears, like Jericho walls, Gotta come down, come down Oh Lord, my prison turns to ruin When Your love moves in All of my fears, like Jericho walls, Gotta come down, come down Come down
“Truth was crashing through the pride and the blame Cutting straight to the heart of me Long before I ever called your name You were fighting for my victory Carved in Your flesh and bone The wounds that have said my souls forgiven Oh now I can feel the darkness trembling
“Rebuild me from the ground up All I wanna see is You Terrify the lies with truth”
“Iniquity is a biblical word that very few people use anymore, and even fewer people know what it means! In this video, we’ll explore the significance of this word in ancient Hebrew, and discover a whole new way to think about our selfish decisions and their consequences.”
“The most common responses given when asked, ‘Why don’t you read the Bible,’ are: unable to comprehend, no time, boring, don’t like to read, too easily distracted, would rather be doing something else. The most common responses given when asked, ‘Why don’t you listen to an audio version of the Bible,’ are: boring, puts me to sleep, read with no emotion, too easily distracted. We believe we are creating an audio version of the Bible like never before!
•It’s preached in a contemporary language (The Message) with emotion rather than read in a hard to comprehend version with no emotion. •It’s complemented by dramatic, theatrical instrumentals rather than dead, distracting silence. •It’s captivating and interesting rather than boring. It’s like hearing the Word for the very first time !
“We are not trying to replace the Bible. We are simply trying to reach people that may never pick up a Bible. We are trying to help those who have difficulty reading/listening/comprehending the Bible. We are trying to solve a problem. We pray you are impacted in mighty way for the Kingdom of God.”
1“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, 3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Becoming the One is a ministry devoted to helping singles navigate their path to marriage and beyond. This trio of videos tells the story of a couple whose lives God changed as they became each other’s one.
For more information about Becoming the One, check out their vision, devos, and testimonies!
A column in the Kokomo Perspective on October 21, 2020 says, “When pushed, a politician’s ‘pro-life’ perspective is only a pro-birth statement.”
If we are to believe this, then are we also to believe that someone who is not pro-life is simply anti-birth? They support the idea that an unborn child is human, they just aren’t in favor of that child being born? What would that even mean?
Clearly, this is not just about birth; it’s also about personhood.
A pro-life person is one who believes that a human is a human regardless of their age.
National Right to Life’s mission is “to protect and defend the most fundamental right of humankind, the right to life of every innocent human being from the beginning of life to natural death.”
A person’s life is an arrow with a beginning and no end. It begins with conception and continues into the afterlife.
Abortion takes a life that God gave to that person and extinguishes it—before her first birthday cake, her first job, her first car, and her first child.
Just last year, Joe Biden was refused communion because of his support of abortion. The Catholic priest who made that decision stated: “Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching.”
By contrast, Donald Trump was the first U.S. President to attend March for Life—an annual event where thousands of Americans gather together to remember those whose lives have been claimed by abortion and advocate for the abortion vulnerable.
This is how Mr. Trump describes his position: “I’m pro-life, but I changed my view a number of years ago. One of the primary reasons I changed [was] a friend of mine’s wife was pregnant, and he didn’t really want the baby. He was crying as he was telling me the story. He ends up having the baby and the baby is the apple of his eye. It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to him. And you know here’s a baby that wasn’t going to be let into life. And I heard this, and some other stories, and I am pro-life.”
One of Donald Trump’s second-term goals is to “protect unborn life through every means available.” When you help an unborn child, you help her, the generations that come before her, and the generations that come after her. It’s like dropping a pebble into a pool: the ripples go on forever.
