sacred strokes

Okay, so let me be upfront right quick about this photo. No, that is not God Himself sitting in some wispy clouds watching me drive at a snail’s pace in order to take His photo. That is a cloud formation that struck me because it looked somewhat like a human-ish form. It is not our Heavenly Father, Alpha and Omega, Maker of heaven and earth. It is an interestingly shaped collective of suspended H2O traveling and morphing as it stretches across the atmosphere. I just happened to see it while it looked like this.

Now that that’s out of the way…

Seeing that cloud did make me reflect on the fact that our Heavenly Father is always there, always watching. For some, that is comforting and for others, that may be a more jarring thought. I think there are probably people who need to hear each side to this coin. Some may need to be reminded that the Lord never leaves us or forsakes us and that He is aware of all of our hardships and heartbreaks on this earth. And that they break His ‘heart,’ too. Others may need the somewhat jolting reminder that there is no hiding from our God. He sees us through and through. To our innermost beings and our truest thoughts. To depths even we aren’t able to understand or compute. He understands us more than we understand ourselves. And He can help us become the type of people whom that doesn’t bother or worry. Because He loves us despite all of that – and He can transform us into people who are full of such love, grace and truth as well.

If you want to read this whole post, please do! I am going to break it down into two sections, though, so if you’re short on time or not crazy about reading, be sure to at least check out the one which more applies to you, your situation, and what you may really need to hear today. Because maybe one is helpful for you right now and the other not so much. The two sections are for two different categories of people, though we all tend to move between them at various times. I’ll call them the “Needers of Comfort” and the “Needers of Conviction.”

Needers of Comfort:

If you’re in a place right now that you would consider yourself a Needer of Comfort, let me first confess that I have no idea exactly what you’re going through. It may be due to something like failing a test or losing a game, feeling like you will never be good enough, experiencing the brokenness of a divorce, sensing the pending end of a relationship or friendship, looking into a loved one’s eyes and seeing sorrow or pain caused by physical, emotional or mental battles they are enduring, maybe going through those battles yourself, letting go of someone who has slipped from this world before you were ready, struggling with financial hardships… sadly, this list is way too easy to continue, isn’t it? That’s the state of our world. There is suffering and each one of us gets a taste, some more than we ever would have chosen to bite off. And I ache for you because I KNOW it is hard right now. And, depending on what you’re going through, it may always be hard when you think about it. But there are some words from Scripture that the Lord included for you for just this very time in your life.

The Lord knows your suffering, and He longs for you to come to Him with it. Pour out your heart to Him. One of my favorite parts of Scripture is in 1 Samuel 1:15, and it’s only a part of the verse. This chapter is about the birth of Samuel, a prophet and priest during a crucial time in Israel’s history. His mother, Hannah, was barren but well loved by her husband. He had a second wife who gave him children and teased Hannah about it to the point that Hannah was in despair despite being so highly loved and valued by her husband. Anyway, she prays silently at the temple while moving her lips and the priest thinks she is drunk. When she replies, the part of verse 15 I love so much is when she clarifies by saying, “I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.” I love the words she used. That’s what we are supposed to do, what He wants us to do. Hannah’s prayer was answered and she bore a son, Samuel, who was dedicated to the Lord’s service and she continued to have additional children afterward, as well. That’s not the way it works for all of us in regard to the requests we make of the Lord, but He does hear us when we call on Him.

Isaiah 57:15 reads, “　For this is what the high and exalted One says—He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” The Lord is among us and deeply present with us for our own benefit, not His. He is there to help revive us and comfort us when our spirits are low and broken. And He will not reject any one of us who humbly seeks Him. Psalm 27:10 says, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” During times when we feel as though all is lost and as though everyone has turned away from us (even those who should be the least likely to do so), the Lord will not close His door to you. It doesn’t matter what you have done, what you have gone through, what kind of mess you might feel like right now. He welcomes you home like the long awaited child of His that you are.

The great thing about choosing to be the Lord’s is that nothing can take you away from Him. Not your mistakes, your problems, or the trials of this world. In John 10:26, Jesus is telling a group of skeptics that they do not believe because they are not His “sheep.” He continues in verses 27-30, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand.　 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 　I and the Father are one.” Not to minimize our sufferings on earth, but isn’t it awesome to know that there is one place we can never be taken away from? One thing we can never lose? One surety in this life other than the oft joked about death and taxes? Once we are His and He is ours, nothing can change that. Nothing else is guaranteed for us, but we can have a peace about that most important thing. Again, in Romans 8:38-39, Paul asserts “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Not your grief, not your past, not that exam you forgot to study for.

God is with you today. Right now. In Matthew 28:20, at the very end of the book, Jesus ends with, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” What a note to leave on. What a thing to say to the disciples, to the folks He was leaving and trusting to spread His gospel, the good news of salvation! They would be sure to experience suffering and persecution, which He informed and encouraged them about, but He concluded with the assuring truth that He would always be with them. Forever. And the Lord is with you always, too.

Deuteronomy 6 and 8 are when Moses shares with Joshua the message from the Lord: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” and “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” It’s in there twice nearly verbatim, perhaps so that it sinks in a little more. Then, in Joshua 1:9, God Himself affirms to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” The Lord was, in this case, with Joshua as he fought literal battles, and He will likewise be with us throughout our various battles of all shapes and sizes in this life.

I’ll end this section with just two more verses because I could try to comfort you all I want, but the Word of the Lord is the realest, utmost wisdom and truth, so I will conclude with two more messages for you:

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you,　but will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17

Needers of Conviction:

If you’re reading this section, you have some sense of either curiosity or self-awareness. Because we all need a reminder of this every now and then, don’t we? It’s got to be tough when folks need it but are so closed to the Spirit’s prodding that they don’t even realize they’re going off course in some form of action, speech or thought. So, I’m glad you’re here with me.

Let’s get right into it. 2 Chronicles 15:2 is when the Holy Spirit prompts the prophet Azariah to say to Asa, the king of Judah, “The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” Well, isn’t that something? All human beings aren’t guaranteed, nor certainly do we deserve, the Lord’s acceptance, favor and presence. If we seek Christ, we will find Him. If we forsake Him, He will one day forsake us – and it will be when it matters the most. Not to get too nit-picky about things, but if we’re in this Needers of Conviction group today and acknowledge it, it means that we can be better at living out our faith and that we know it. So think about each thing you have done today so far. Was anything particularly bad, or done for the wrong reason? If not, was anything you said particularly unpleasant? Were any of your thoughts particularly impure? If not, think back over the past week or so and ‘fess up to yourself, because not one of us is perfect and the Lord will open our eyes if we let Him. Anyway, those are the moments we most need to seek Christ. Yes, right when it is the hardest. The most emotional. The most upsetting. The most painful. Because those are our most vulnerable times to be tempted to misrepresent our Savior, to say hurtful things, to think malicious thoughts. Psalm 139:2 says, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” There is nothing new you could tell the Lord about that He isn’t already aware of. But, you know what, tell Him anyway.

Those who need conviction perhaps need the reminder that nothing is hidden from our Lord. As David so beautifully states in Psalm 139:7-12, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there;　if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” Jeremiah 23:23-24 reads, “’Am I only a God nearby,’ declares the Lord, ‘and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.”

If you want to get better at living out your values and beliefs, perhaps you can try this question my dad shared with me when I was a teenager. I was watching some kind of TV show with my mom that was borderline inappropriate. Something with a bunch of half-dressed make-out scenes and cheating spouses and drama. You know the kind. I liked that I was the only one of my siblings allowed to watch it with my mom, and it made me feel special. (And before you go judging my mom, remember this isn’t about her – it’s about you.) In fact, it was probably 95% appropriate to the point that a little kid could watch, but that other 5%… well… let’s just say my dad didn’t like it when he saw one of those scenes as he walked in. He didn’t yell or turn off the TV. He didn’t make me feel like he was mad at me or even disappointed in me. He didn’t make me stop watching or leave the room. He just looked at the TV and asked very matter-of-fact, almost word for word, “Honna, how would you feel if Jesus was right with you and you were watching that?” He didn’t need to say anything else because I can put 2 and 2 together and I realized where he was going with it. I would feel guilty and embarrassed and like I was completely wasting my time by watching absolute garbage television instead of being outside or playing with my siblings or reading or helping around the house or anything remotely worthwhile. And I did feel guilty because, as I realized the second my dad said something, Jesus was with me in that moment, just like every other moment. If you really are trying to get better in an area of your life, perhaps that idea could help you. How do you feel knowing that the Lord is witnessing those actions, those words, those thoughts? If you’re not a Christian, maybe just think about what someone who loves you would think. Someone who knows your potential and your worth. What would your parent or best friend or spouse or child think if they were there? Perhaps this idea is a way to spark some conviction if you know you need more awareness.

Pray for deeper awareness. Prayer is so important not only for conviction, but for real change. Conviction is a realization, and it leads to change. They are not one step and they are not the same thing. Think about a time when you maybe tried to lose weight. The conviction hit, perhaps, when you realized that you had gained 20 pounds in a year and that you are no longer at a healthy or comfortable weight. That can either remain some endless, half-hearted “desire” to lose weight, or it can be a conviction that compels you to change. Conviction, in this scenario, would cause you to alter your diet, your physical activity, or some combination of the two. So, along with awareness and conviction, pray for the commitment and perseverance to truly be changed and improve. That’s what conviction is all about anyway…

Psalm 23:4 is an often quoted verse. In its entirety, it reads, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” A very common metaphor in the Bible is that the Lord is a good Shepherd and His people are sheep. At the onset of the verse is the pleasant reminder that God’s presence is able to eradicate fear. The second part is… interesting. The rod and staff are said to be a comfort. Yet, the reason a shepherd would use a rod or a staff would be to direct the sheep, guide them, keep them where they should be, and perhaps even give one a little smack on the bottom to get it back with the others. David could probably just as honestly have said that the rod and the staff restrict Him. That they bother Him, that they are a burden and he sometimes hates when they get used. But I think the reason that David, rather, is comforted by them is because of his close relationship with the Lord and his complete trust in his God. He knows that if the Lord is convicting Him, He is just and faithful in doing so. He’s just trying to steer him back on course. If he gets a smack, it is in an attempt to get him to return to the Shepherd and keep him from straying to even further, more dangerous areas. Conviction does not need to be an ugly, harsh word. In fact, it is one of the most loving things our Heavenly Father does for us. Proverb 3:11-12 says, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

Real conviction leads to positive change. The Lord desires to transform us into agents of light in this world. We were not meant to blend in, but to stand out for Him! Moses asked the Lord in Exodus 33:13, “If You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You.” May that be the desire of all our hearts. To listen, to learn, to live for Him. In verse 14, the Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

God’s presence is constant. It is not only those moments when we see some cloud in the sky, or a beautiful sunset, or breathtaking foliage. Not when we feel especially loved by others or when we feel a prayer has been answered. God is witness through all. Whether you need it as a comforting encouragement or a convicting reminder, know that He is always with us. Always.

Romans 8:5-6, HLC