Hope in a Year of Bad News

DENISON FORUM CULTURAL COMMENTARY - TODAY'S NEWS IN SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE

The Wall Street Journal calls 2014 "a year of living on the brink."  Why?  "Liberia, ISIS, Ukraine, Hong Kong, a hospital fighting Ebola infections in Dallas, the year's stock-market gains obliterated, and I almost forgot—just last week Secretary of State John Kerry warned that climate change could end life as we know it."  It's hard to find good news in the news.

Economic turmoil continues as investors worry about the global economy and Europe's debt crisis.  Yesterday an Air France aircraft flying from Paris was grounded at its Madrid destination after one of its passengers began showing symptoms of Ebola.  A hospital in Connecticut stated yesterday that it is evaluating a patient with "Ebola-like symptoms."  As tensions between Russia and Ukraine persist, one Russian expert explains that "in Putin's mind, Ukraine is not a nation."

Does reading these two paragraphs cause you to feel discouraged?

Now consider these news reports: The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to a 14-year low.  Industrial output rose sharply in September, showing the biggest gains in nearly two years.  Air strikes have stalled the advance of ISIS on the Turkish border, allowing Kurdish fighters to retake territory from the militants.

American and Iranian negotiators report progress in their high-level nuclear talks, as both sides say they intend to meet their self-imposed November 24 deadline.  And Lockheed has announced a technological breakthrough that could lead to nuclear fusion reactors, producing safe, renewable energy with far less waste.

Now do you feel encouraged?

We can base our security on the news, in which case our well-being is the product of the last story we read.  Or we can base it on our unchanging God and his never-ending strength and love.  Yesterday I had breakfast with a dear friend who has been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.  As the disease progresses, everyday tasks become more challenging.  You might expect him to be morose, depressed, and fearful.  But you would be wrong.  The serenity of his spirit is remarkable and obvious.  The source of his peace is found in a single verse he cited: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

"Refuge" translates mahseh, used in the Bible to describe shelters to which people flee in war or storms.  "Strength" translates 'oz, describing power under duress, a city that stands when besieged.  Taken together, they portray God as the One who shelters and defends all who trust him.  In "trouble" (sara, distress, anxiety) he is our "very present help."

Here's the catch: a refuge can shelter only those who get inside its protection.  The self-sufficiency our culture celebrates is actually spiritual suicide.  My friend, one of the most gifted and successful businessmen I know, has chosen to make God his refuge and strength.  If you had been at breakfast with us, you would want the peace and joy you saw in his soul.

Would God say he is your refuge and strength today?

A New Level

 

 

Have you ever been at a point in your faith walk where it seems God is withholding external blessings?  God is working in you to hone your faith so that it is more focused on Him then on the receiving of an outward blessing.  Will you still praise God as God if He withholds outward blessings?

 

God wants a genuine relationship with each one of us.  Do you want your children to love you based on what material thing you give them?  Can you imagine your child only doing what is expected of them if they are given a toy each time?  I don't think so ~ we want love to be real and that is what God wants too.  God will engineer our circumstances so that we experience emptiness to raise our faith to a higher level.  Even if we see no external blessings, we still need to praise God as God.  He gave His only Son to die on the cross for us so that we would not have to suffer eternal death, and this is not because of anything we've done!  Until we can understand that that is the ultimate prize, God will keep taking us to those empty places.  He wants our faith to come up to a whole new level.  Don't let the dark times in your life send you into a tailspin, instead, continue to praise God as God.  He is sovereign, He loves you, and He is right there beside you.

 

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

*Reference "Utmost For His Highest" April 4 devotion

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the gift of Your Son. Remind us daily that even if we never see another external blessing, Your Son is ALL that matters and we will continue to praise You in ALL circumstances.

 

Philippians 3: 13-15

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Like Fine China

What happens every day in your home defines what normal becomes for your family. It may become normal to go camping every summer. It might become normal to eat turkey at Christmas but have hamburgers on Saturday. Normal might include going to school, spending an hour on homework after school, going to the movies once a month, having friends over every Friday night, and knowing that Dad is passionate about keeping his car in great
shape.

Parents determine what’s normal by the rhythm they establish in their homes. So—and here’s the key question—how normal is God in your home?

Some of us are just old enough to have still received fine china as a wedding gift. These days, we’re wondering why it was a priority, because we never use it. Our kids don’t see it as normal because it rarely comes out of the cabinet. When it does come out, the kids figure someone special must be coming over, everyone’s concerned about whether it breaks or not, and we all tend to get a little more uptight. Consequently, our china set has missed a lot over the life of our family.

It missed almost all the conversations we’ve had over dinner. It missed the laughter, the wrestling after supper, and some hilarious times with the four of us and with friends. It missed all the practical jokes we’ve played on each other and all the snacks during movies. It missed the arguments, the tears, and the seemingly incurable hiccups. It pretty much missed everything. If you ever asked my kids if they ever wanted it as an inheritance, they’d likely say no. It just isn’t a part of anyone’s life.

We haven’t thrown the china out because it costs a lot of money, and it’s important in the sense that valuable possesions are important.

Some of us grew up with a faith like that. God was important, but He just didn’t come out much in the daily rhythm of life. Some of you grew up in a home where faith was never talked about. You never went to church on Sunday, and God never came up during the week. It wasn’t part of your rhythm at all.

Some of you grew up in a home where God was part of a Sunday rhythm, but like fine china, He never showed up on any other day. You didn’t pray at meals. God was never part of a daily dialogue. In fact, you could never figure out how the God of Sunday had any claim on everyday life. It was just a mystery to you.

You knew it was important. You believed at some level that God had value. But like the china in your cabinet, God just didn’t see much time in your family’s life. Some of you grew up in a decidedly Christian home, and God was part of a rhythm. For some of us, it felt like a bit of an awkward rhythm.

A well-meaning and sincere parent would bring out the big Bible after dinner. A passage would be read. And then questions would be asked. I’ve tried that as a parent, and it’s all good until the uncomfortable “no one’s answering my questions and can we please just be excused” moment that inevitably follows. It feels so formal, as though it isn’t actually connected to everyday life. Somehow faith ends up feeling like a compartment we step into for a moment rather than a conversation that’s woven into the fabric of life.

That’s the difference between a God who is at the center of the family and one who is put up on the shelf and only taken out for special occasions.
Orangeparents.org

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