June 30 - Daily Challenge - Be Still

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted among the earth."

This morning I awoke to a quiet house. Due to my love of sleep, this rarely happens, as it is one of my children who normally serves as my alarm clock. As I began to pray over the day, Psalm 46 came to mind.

This is a psalm that illustrates God's sovereign protection over all times of misfortune. The first verse declares the nature of God. He is our strong refuge and helper in trouble. The psalmist describes both destruction caused by natural catastrophes as well as by human wars, the two leading causes for mass casualties. Throughout the psalm, he then describes God's involvement of protection within these different environments. The focus of the psalm is that even though the earth and kingdoms may pass away, the kingdom of God will not fall. Therefore, in light of this knowledge, we should be still and recognize God for who He is. God is present with us and is our Fortress.

Being still is the last thing people want to do in times of chaos. Our survival instincts kick in and unfortunately, we often do not surrender our trust to God. We do not recognize that while He is in ultimate control over this earth, there also awaits for us an unshakable kingdom. As believers, we have nothing to fear. Instead, we rally behind fear and react accordingly. However, our focus should be resolute on the Creator and Sustainer.

Being still does not mean having a laissez-faire attitude and passively giving up the battles that come to life. Rather, it is taking time out in the midst of those battles to gain perspective and as a result maintaining a sense of peace throughout the course, no matter the result. Therefore, we can exalt God, in every circumstance.

The greatest illustration I can give of our tendency to respond verses how we ought to respond comes from the movie "Titanic." After the ship began to sink and everyone knew there were not enough lifeboats, chaos erupted. People were filled with fear, despair, anger, hopelessness, etc. Yet, there is a touching scene of stillness. When most all have either refused to recognize or resigned to their fate, a single violinist begins to play, "Nearer My God to Thee," thus illustrating his resolve. His colleagues join him. Amidst the disorder, rage, and seeming injustice, there is recognition that God is still in control. You can sense the stillness in the recognition of God's sovereignty. Though there are images of death, destruction, and despair, in the background is the sweet music, acknowledging that in that moment, a believer is choosing to draw nearer to God. He is not playing out of resignation, but rather out of comfort and peace.

It does not have to be catastrophic events in which we exercise this practice of stillness. We experience "minor catastrophes" everyday and have the choice how we are going to respond.The children begin to misbehave and we turn to anger rather than grace. Traffic is terrible on the way home and we react in road rage. The car breaks down, the phone rings one too many times, the basement floods, you have one too many deadlines, a storm takes out the car, a person asks one too many favors. The list goes on and on. There are constantly misgivings that tempt us to react to chaos rather than to respond to God.

The Challenge today is to look at what areas are you tempted react to the chaos instead of responding to God by being still and recognizing, in each moment, that He is God. This requires us being intentional about taking the time to be still and using that time to recognize and exalt God for who He is.




To see a video clip of the Titanic scene mentioned above, click here.

Heavenly Hope

Written on the evening of June 17, 2011: This post is dedicated in honor and memory to Paul Garrison. I love you Papa.

As I sit here right now, I am weary and weak. After a wonderful week of ministry at Vacation Bible School, it has closed with a visit to the pediatrician for my daughter, a fever and migraine for myself, and a long journey of seeing my husband's grandfather prepare to go home to his Heavenly Father for our family. As I take a moment to ponder all that has happened in the day, the Spirit of the Lord whispers to me, "Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:30).

The last three months have been a battle ground for me spiritually and physically. However, I have felt the Spirit of the Lord upon me as He has molded me and has carried me through this time. He has been my shelter and my strength.

I will not analyze this verse, because that is not the intention of this post. However, let me say this: weariness is a part of life. It is a result of living in a fallen world. Yet, we have the choice of hope. We have the choice to hope and in whom to place that hope. We can choose to lose hope and give up the fight of shining our light for Christ, succuming to the patterns of the world. We can also place our hope in false "gods", be it our own efforts, others, substances, habits, false philosophies, etc. However, those who hope in the Lord will unltimately find their renewal. Not because of some hocus pocus power, but because they know that there is more than these present trials. If we persevere, one day we will stand victorious with Christ in glory because He overcame the grave. This truth has given me the strength to endure and to continue to proclaim, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Daily Challenge - June 8, 2011 - Sovereignty is Strength

Habakkuk 3:19 - The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of the deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.

This is the final verse of the book of Habakkuk. This small book in the Old Testament is about a righteous man wrestling with the unrighteousness in the world. The book is filled with the prophet Habakkuk's struggle with how God was working in the world. At the beginning of the book, the prophet cried out to God because the people of Judah (the southern nation of Israel after they split) were wicked; yet they remain unjudged by the Lord. When God answered that He would send the pagan Chaldeans to judge the nation, Habakkuk still did not understand how God could seemingly bless a nation who were worse than the ones God was judging. However, God explains they will receive their due judgment. The book ends with the prophet realizing that his trust in and worship of the Lord must come, not from the temporal blessings He bestows, but on His character and nature that has been proven throughout the ages.

The Sovereign Lord is our strength. It is His ultimate control over all going on that allows us to continue on when we feel like we have nothing left to go on or give. The Lord operates on a plan that is grander than our own. Our temporal minds cannot comprehend it. Yet, He is just. He is righteous. He is good. He is in control. Once we stop arguing with Him and trust in His sovereignty, it will be our strength. Knowing that the Lord has a plan and purpose for all that is going on will enable us to do things we never thought possible. Habakkuk did not see resolution at the end of the book. Yet, he worshipped God because God was God.

The challenge today is to think about what area of life you are struggling in trusting in the Lord's Sovereignty. Perhaps it is a prolonged illness, something that seems unjust in your eyes, a prayer that you have not received the answer you desired. Ask God to help you see His sovereignty in that situation and help you look at it through a perspective greater than your own. Then ask Him to give you the strength that comes from Him to help you faithfully worship Him daily.