Be Still

"Be still, and know that I am God"—Psalm 46:10 NIV

Are you someone who has trouble waiting? I think that we all at times are people who cannot wait. As a child, I recall sitting in the restaurant and my parents reciting a series of thoughts to keep me occupied as we await the meal.  "Well, Mike, they need to go out and find a chicken", "They need to catch it, kill it, clean it and then they need to cook it in order for you to have your chicken tenders." A much longer process than a young boy wants to think about.  Well, for the sake of honesty, I still may have to do that in my head at times as I await dinner at a restaurant.


For whatever reason, we seem to lack patience. We do not just want things, we want them and we want them now! As Americans, we not only have fast food restaurants, rather drive-through fast food restaurants so that we can eat on the go (and even get irritated when we have to wait too long in line). In the last twenty years, I have gone from thinking that dial-up internet (if you wish to reminisce, you may click this link) was incredible to thinking…my high-speed internet could be upgraded. We do not understand what being “still” is anymore.

In the psalm, the writer calls us to look to God in times of trouble, and really all of the time. We remain in his hands, and he continues to work wonders even if we are moving too fast to see them.

Be Still. We are a country and a people who seem restless, moving from activity to activity. Moreover, because we are going at such a rapid pace, we neglect to listen, to meditate, to think. As a result, our relationship with God can suffer. We may complain that God is not speaking, but maybe we are not listening. Perhaps we need to slow down our lives and let God back in. It is time to hit the brakes!

How can we slowdown in our lives? Maybe it means taking the time to say a prayer several times a day opposed to meal times or as we lay down to sleep. Maybe it means opening the scripture, meditating on the scriptures and asking, “God what are you saying here?” rather than continuing to simply hit a “chapter a day” quota. Maybe we could start by saying a prayer of thanksgiving for who God is, and what he has done. Perhaps we invest more in our families and our relationships through family game nights opposed to catching up with our favorite reality TV show. It could be that God can speak to us through the experiences of others.

How will you and I try to slow down? Feel free to submit a thought. Let us slowdown in our lives, and turn to see what great things God is doing in our midst.

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Saying Thank You

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him..”—Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

Gifts are wonderful things are they not?  It is fun to receive gifts and it can be more enjoyable to give a gift that you just know someone is going to love. However, does that always happen? I hope that for you it does. Chances are that we all have given/received a gift that did not go over so glowingly.  The recipient opens the gift, looks at it, and they discard it. How do we (as the giver) respond? Inside are we annoyed? Frustrated? Angry? Hurt? We may be feeling some toxic mix of some of those things even to the point of resenting purchasing that gift in the first place.  We took the time go to the store, pick that gift out, pay for  it, wrap it up or put it in a bag, and we do not get anything. Perhaps there is a hasty “thank you” before discarding the gift, but the “thanks” does little to assuage our feelings.

Have we thought about when we receive gifts from God in that way? God has given each of us a gift, and that is the gift of new life and a new day with all those blessings. I have heard it said that there are two types of people: People who say, “Good Morning, Lord” and “Good Lord, its morning!” We sometimes wake up and we are bitter over the day. “Ugh, it is raining outside!” or “Oh it is too hot/cold outside.” “Snow again!?!?!?!?” “I have so many aches and pains today.” “I wish I could just stay in bed.” Does that sound like you and me?

The gift could be something other than the day as well. It could be what we think is a poor answer to our prayer...God, I did not want you to send that person to me, I did not want x, y, or z. I wanted you to do a, b and c.  I guess even d would have been ok! I wanted the problem solved my way.  Then we become bitter and angry because God’s answer is coming in his timing, or is not what we wanted/expected.

Perhaps we should think of this in another perspective! If we are busy complaining about the gifts God gives, we are ungrateful children of God. We are the person who opens the gift, uses the gift, never says thank you and even begins to degrade the gift. We need to say, “Thank You.” God has given us more than we could ever imagine, we can and should bring him the praise and the glory.  We may at times be frustrated with what we do not understand, but God wants the best for us, and it may take some time for us to realize how God’s plan is working.

How then can we receive these gifts well?  Paul recommends that we give thanks through what we do. Let us praise God through our mouths, let us praise him through our words, and let us serve him with the time that he has given to us.  Each day in itself is a gift; let us show our gratefulness through how we use the gifts that he has given and how we live our lives.  

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Traffic Jam

You are driving down the road, time for vacation! You have gone a little while perhaps a few hours and there is a traffic jam or some type of construction. In order to "save time" perhaps we get off, we try to take a short cut. Early on, you think it is the right decision, but do not realize our huge mistake. After a while, you begin to ask yourself. Should I turn here? Should I go back? One of the worst feelings in the world is to be lost, is it not?  I do not know about you but often when I am lost, my feelings multiply. I become flustered, I become irritated, I become angry, I may get testy (at least I seem to be many of these things). We may tell ourselves, it is not too bad, we can push through...but how long do we go? We may get lucky and find familiar territory, or we even worse get more lost. Just 5 more minutes, or a couple of miles go by, and nothing is better. It is obvious that the situation must change. We cannot afford to continue driving lost. It is time to ask for help. The question then is whom do we ask? We pull over; we ask someone who is experienced, who is knowledgeable and someone who knows the area.

In our Christian lives, we may find ourselves in a traffic jam. We are on cruise control, and we are going well. No major stops, no major accidents for a while, and then in a fury, the storm, the construction zone, and the traffic bog us down.  Rather than pushing through, we think, a shortcut may be in order. Let us avoid anything that is going to slow us down. We think that we know where we are going but we ultimately end up getting lost. We made things harder for ourselves when we strayed, when ironically we tried to make things easier. We thought, well we can set this route aside for a moment, and get back on the real road later. Despite our best efforts, the short cuts will not work. We end up losing more time and expending more energy than if we would have just gone through the jam.  

What do we do then? We cannot afford to remain lost. The best way then for us to proceed is to get back on to the right path, to turn back to Christ. Christ is with us, he has overcome the world, and he knows exactly where we are going and where we need to go. Sometimes that road may take us through roadblocks or trials, maybe sin slows us down too, but we should not be afraid to turn back to God. We should not be afraid to stop and ask for help or directions. Christ came to seek and save the lost. Christ does not promise that the road will be without pain and trial. Going the way of Christ however, should is a joy unparalleled.

Are you and I lost in our Christian lives? The first step that we may need to take is to admit that we are not in control, and that we do not actually know what we are doing. We may need to take the time to pull over and ask for directions. It may be hard, but when we do that, we will find relief, we will find satisfaction, and we will put ourselves in position to proceed to the final destination.

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Among the Ashes

Some of you know, others may not know that our Illinois Classis held a spring meeting on Tuesday and one of the major topics of discussion was the disbanding of Trinity Reformed Church in Fulton, IL. I cannot imagine what it is like for the former pastors, parishioners, and those who held a strong connection to the church over the years, and now the church is closed with nothing left but memories of things that once were. My prayers and thoughts are with them as they transition into a new phase of their lives and ministries. The closing of the church prompted me to think about ashes, death, and new life.

Ashes are a powerful symbol in the Bible. As we celebrate Ash Wednesday in many traditions, we place the mark of the cross on our heads in ashes and the minister tells us something like “From dust you came, and to dust you will return.” It is a very sobering experience, remembering that we are frail, and that we at some time will take our final breath, but the question that I have for us is then, what are we going to do with the time between, and can God sometimes work in the “ashes.”

Too many times in our lives we think that when everything is reduced to ashes, it is time to give up or to move on. And yes, that is true. SOMETIMES. But other times, we have to consider what God is doing. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, there were disciples who thought that everything was done. They had feelings of grief, of shock, and bewilderment. But this was not the final plan, out of the death of Christ, there came new life.

Perhaps then we should look to Christ and see that there might be areas of our life where we need to “die” that we might have new life, new possibilities, and let God work. It may be painful, there may be sorrow, but the joy also can come with the morning.

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Startling Serenity

As I was doing morning devotions this morning, I read some thoughts by Pastor James MacDonald on the Lord’s Prayer, and he noted that this is the only request that they ask of Jesus is to teach them to pray. Some of us know the Lord’s Prayer very well, some of us do not know it well at all but regardless of whether it is something we recite on a regular basis or not, it is still important for us. We may know the various petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, such as “forgive us our debts/transgressions” or “Give us our daily bread,” but one that I am drawn to this morning is “thy will be done”.

My question for us this morning, is ….do we actually pray that petition? We may say yes. If we are honest with ourselves, we may say no. But the question remains do we really pray “Thy will be done”? I cannot answer that question for all of us. There is a (or at least should be J) a startling serenity in praying that petition. There is a fear in giving up that power, but there is a joy and a peace in knowing that our lives our in much more capable hands.

When Jesus is instructing us to pray thy will be done. He is telling us that we are to give up control, and give up our will.  It means everything. It means our whole selves, not simply part of our lives, or an hour a week. It means today, tomorrow, next week, forever.  It does not mean us saying, “God, I will let you choose what you want me to do today, rather, God, set my mind straight. Align my life according to your plan.”

God wants more than lip service, he wants commitment. He wants a complete surrender, and that begins with our will. Jesus example shows us this as well when he prays, “God take the cup from me but that His will would be done.” God’s will is not going to be our will, unless we make our will his. He is will not change his entire will based on our whims. God is sovereign, good, and holy. Together let us change our will, and our minds to Gods and pray remembering that, “Thy will be done” not our own. And let us live into that startling serenity that God reigns over us.

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