the Provider

Posted on by Grace Day

Remember the story of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens? In it Mr. Scrooge is called “the founder of the feast” by Bob Cratchit. This sentiment is a bit sarcastic given that Mr. Scrooge lived up to his name – he wasn’t really a very generous provider at all. (well, until the end when he had a change of heart) Which begs the question for me and perhaps for you too, dear readers – who is my provider? Do I look to myself? Do I look to others? Do I count on the government to meet my needs?

Circumstances are always subject to change as this world is filled with uncertainty. Must be why the saying “Nothing is certain but death and taxes” is still with us and still relevant. Who will provide our human needs has always been a central question for us from the beginning of our existence. God was the first Provider. He created Adam and Eve and placed them in a beautiful garden that He had created. God provided all their needs until they became discontent, chose their own way and were put out of the garden. Even then, it was God who provided them clothing before they left their home.

“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

God has a history of providing for us, especially at those times when we are unable to provide for ourselves that which we most need. Consider Abraham and his trip up the mountain with his son, Isaac. They were on their way to make a sacrifice to God BUT – something essential was missing – the actual sacrifice itself. Still Abraham kept on going up the mountain in faith.

“Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. . . . Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.” (Genesis 22:6-8)

Now God had told Abraham to take Isaac up the mountain and to sacrifice him there. BUT – at the last moment, God called to Abraham to stop, saying –

” ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ He said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.’ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’ ” (Genesis 22:12-14)

God was Abraham’s Provider then. He was the Israelites’ Provider for forty years. While the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God provided them with manna new every morning to sustain them on their journey to the Promised Land. God is my Provider now, today and every day. He is yours too. We have this reminder from Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi –

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

I don’t need to waste time worrying or to be filled with fear. My Heavenly Father is more than able to take care of me. In fact, Paul wrote these words in his letter to the church at Corinth –

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Now that is a very reassuring promise. God doesn’t want me or you either, to spend our days consumed with anxiety, worry, fear and stress. Jesus spoke very clearly about this, saying to those He was teaching –

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? . . . Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? . . . So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

Those last words I have no trouble believing and I bet you don’t either. Each day seems to contain some measure of trouble, challenge, hardship, suffering, pain or loss. Some days just have more than others. BUT – even in the worst of circumstances, God shows up as my Provider. His promise is the same for you, too. King David experienced the worst of times and yet during those dangerous and difficult times He wrote these words –

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. . . . 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:1 & 4-5)

Even in the most dire of circumstances, “the valley of the shadow of death” and “in the presence of his enemies” – King David experienced God’s not just sufficient, but abundant provision. David acknowledged that his “cup overflowed.”

And if I’m honest, I must admit that mine does too. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) I am the recipient of so many of God’s “good and perfect gifts” everyday that it is impossible not to be filled with gratitude for such undeserved favor.

My Heavenly Father’s most wonderful gifts aren’t even material ones. He gives me His comfort, His peace, His mercy, His hope, His healing, His protection – the list is endless, as is my Heavenly Father’s provision for me.

My God is many things. My God is all things to me. He is my Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Rescuer, Redeemer, Restorer, Lord, King, Defender, Healer, Protector – the One who has my name engraved on His palms, the One who rejoices over me with singing – the One who knows the way that I take – the One who provides for me “immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within me” (Ephesians 3:20) – my Heavenly Father – the Provider of all that I will ever need.

“His divine power has given us (me and you) everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3)

sincerely, Grace Day

mysteries amid the mundane

Posted on by Grace Day

Although my days are usually quite ordinary and uneventful, mundane even, somehow they still manage to be filled with the intrigue of multiple unsolved mysteries. These mysteries can present themselves at any time without warning, but they are especially likely to reveal themselves when I am going through a closet or a drawer in search of some lost item, which is a mystery in its own right, of course. While I may not find the particular sought after item which prompted my original search, I am likely to uncover other mysteries, which is to say, my search inevitably leads me to more mysteries – mysteries without apparent answers – mysteries that defy any logic while simultaneously daring me to solve them.

So while my inquiring mind wants to know the answers to these multiple mysteries, I am forced to live daily with the majority of these myriad mysteries remaining unsolved. But it is not due to a lack of effort on my part that these mysteries remain mysteries. (the assumption here being that if a mystery is solved, it is no longer a mystery – not after the answer becomes known) No, these mysteries remain despite my best efforts to solve them.

Is this true for you as well, dear readers? Do you live surrounded by myriad mysteries that lack a solution? You are not alone. I think most of us do. But our mysteries may be different – except for the universal and most important one. That is a mystery we all share.

However, here are some of my current and more mundane mysteries. I have discovered I possess at least nine remote control devices. Why is this mysterious? Because the fact is that I have only one TV. That accounts for one remote device. The mystery is – why do I have all these other remotes? I wonder what they are for, what devices they might control BUT, I have no clue. Each remote control is a mystery to me. I don’t know what or where their intended device is, the thing that each remote belongs to, the thing that each remote is made specifically for, whether that is a TV, a stereo or whatever it might be? Where in the world are all of the electronic devices that belong with each one of these remote controls I currently have in my possession. It is a mystery I would like to solve. I would love to reunite each remote with the device to whom it belongs. That would be a happy ending.

I also have various and assorted keys laying around. Other than the keys to my car (which aren’t actual keys anymore) and the key to my door – what do all these other keys unlock? I wish I knew. I hold the keys to many unknown things. Each key contains a mystery all its own. There’s a lock out there somewhere which is the perfect fit for one and only one of my many random keys. Likewise, there are other locks waiting to be reunited with the one key that will open them. Each key represents a mystery just waiting to be solved.

Then there are the boxes of old photos I have recently discovered. I’m talking very old, black and white photos of people that I don’t know because they died long before I was born. Some of the photos have names on them, but most are not labeled. Each unlabeled photograph tells a story I am sure, but that story remains a mystery to me, since I am unsure of who the people in the picture actually are. They could be my great grandparents or even further back than that. It is a mystery that will remain unsolved for all of the photos that have no names and no dates written on their backs.

I also come across random puzzle pieces from time to time. These individual pieces have become separated from their original puzzles, leaving me no idea to which puzzle any particular lost puzzle piece once belonged. Each puzzle piece carries with it a mystery all its own. How did it end up isolated and alone? What or who separated it from its rightful place as an important part of a larger whole? This lone puzzle piece is no doubt one of a thousand pieces, pieces that when all connected together, make up one complete, beautiful picture.

I can’t help thinking that this lone puzzle piece would probably like to find its place, the place where it fits, the place where it belongs. It is designed to be connected to the other pieces of its original puzzle. No other puzzle will have a place for this piece. Only the puzzle for which it was created in the first place will have a space for which this piece was specifically designed, a space that only this puzzle piece can fill. Apart from the puzzle, this piece cannot fulfill its intended purpose. Alone and disconnected, this puzzle piece never realizes its potential.

Ever feel like a lone puzzle piece trying desperately to find a place where you fit in? This is the mystery we all share. Where is our place in this world? in this universe? We all desire connection over isolation, yet finding a space that matches our shape proves elusive at first, then eventually becomes downright impossible to find. We each are searching for a place where we can feel like we belong. In this world our search proves futile, again and again, as we try various groups, organizations, causes, clubs, cults – anything that promises us a place, a purpose and people with whom we can share those things. Yet each time we are disappointed, because we are made for something more than what we attempt to fashion for ourselves.

We are each created in God’s image. We are created for His good purposes. We are created to belong to Him as dearly loved sons and daughters. We find the space that only our own unique God created shape can fill waiting for us when we become a part of “the body of Christ”. This has been our destiny from the beginning – connection, not isolation. The apostle Paul described it this way in Corinthians –

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. . . . But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. . . . Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-27)

Many pieces. One puzzle. One complete picture. The lost puzzle piece finds its purpose, finds its place of belonging only when it gets connected to the puzzle and fills its space – the space that only it can fill. In the connection there is completion. There is also peace and purpose. The mystery is solved. The picture of the puzzle is completely revealed.

I will continue to have many unsolved mysteries this side of heaven. Random remotes, keys without locks, pictures without labels, puzzle pieces without a puzzle – and of course, always, socks without a match. But the important mysteries will eventually be solved in eternity.

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 & 13)

sincerely, Grace Day

missing pieces

Posted on by Grace Day

Have you ever put a puzzle together only to find that when you have all the pieces assembled, one (or more) is missing? Now granted, for a one-thousand piece puzzle that empty space is very small, but it is an unfilled space nonetheless, a vacant space which renders the puzzle incomplete and unfinished. I invariably find myself vaguely disappointed when this happens. After all the time and effort put into solving the puzzle, the puzzle remains incomplete as long as even one piece is missing. There are those who would say one piece out of a thousand doesn’t matter. But small as the missing puzzle piece might be, it still leaves a hole in the picture the puzzle creates. Every piece matters.

And the pieces are not interchangeable. I can’t take a puzzle piece from a different one-thousand piece puzzle and put it in the empty space. Even if I could find a piece with the correct shape to fit the open space in the puzzle, that piece would not have the right colors or the correct artwork on it necessary to complete the larger picture of that particular puzzle. So my puzzle is doomed to remain incomplete as long as the needed puzzle piece remains lost. Suffice it to say, I do not have a good track record of finding lost things, particularly when it comes to lost puzzle pieces.

Actually, I think I know what it feels like to be a puzzle with a missing piece or pieces. Maybe you do too, dear readers? Longing for completion, yet living life with unfilled spaces – that is the human condition at present. We are all puzzles with missing pieces. We are all works in progress. Ecclesiastes gives me a clue as to why this is so –

“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

You and I are created in God’s image. We are created to know Him. You and I are created for eternity. That’s why eternity is in our hearts.

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

But our Creator God is too often the missing piece in our puzzle – leaving us wondering about the unsatisfied longing of our souls, a longing which never seems to leave us, as we go about our daily lives. We attribute this longing and its solution to many things – if we just had more money, if we just had a different job, if we just lived somewhere else, if only we were more talented – the list is endless. However, this longing of the human soul is nothing new. In the 1600’s Blaise Pascal wrote in his work entitled Pensees about this aspect of the human condition. A paraphrase or summation of Pascal’s point is this –

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator made known through Jesus Christ.”

When I let God into my life, I finally find the completeness that I long for. I begin to find all the missing pieces of myself that I endlessly seek. And one day, when I am reunited with my Creator, my Savior, my Heavenly Father God – who are all one in the same, this process will be complete. On that day, I will no longer have holes left open because pieces of myself are missing and I can’t find them. My missing pieces will be fully found – every last one of them. No more missing pieces! This is the promise in God’s word –

“Now we (I) see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we (I) shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

I will be known for who I truly am, no gaps, no holes, no missing pieces of my story. And you too, dear readers, will be whole and complete. You will be fully known as your true self with no missing pieces. Just as God knows you and me completely and loves us fully, we will know each other fully and be fully known ourselves. No fear in that, just love and acceptance.

I know from experience that I have seldom found any of the missing pieces to any of my jigsaw puzzles over the years. Once lost, they have never been recovered and restored to their proper place in their original puzzle. Fortunately, my Heavenly Father has a much better track record of retrieval and restoration. Based on what King David wrote in this Psalm, I think he would agree with me. King David wrote this about God –

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.” (Psalm 56:8)

Yes – our Creator has seen and has collected all our tears. I’m confident that He also has possession of all our missing pieces and that He will use these pieces when He lovingly redeems and restores us, making us whole, just as He created us to be all along. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to this time – when we are each and everyone of us made whole. No more missing pieces.

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

sincerely, Grace Day

buried alive

Posted on by Grace Day

“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

The above is one of my favorite quotes. It serves as a reminder to me, one I need daily, that the people around me are likely dealing with and enduring hard and painful trials that may not be known or be visible to me, but are nonetheless very real. If truth be told, we are each one “walking wounded” through this world and through this life. Sometimes our battles get the better of us and our burdens become unbearable. Must be why Paul said in his letter to the churches in Galatia –

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

Good advice but how do I live this out on a daily basis? What about when my own burdens are so heavy that I fear I will fall beneath their weight, unsure if I have the strength to get up again and move forward. There are days when my burdens threaten to bury me alive. How then can I possibly bear someone else’s burdens in addition to my own? And yet, that’s exactly what my Heavenly Father asks of me, to enter into other people’s lives in this meaningful way. Paul says in Romans –

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15)

Currently, it seems everyone I know is fighting a hard battle, and I feel the weight of each struggle as if it is my own. Some are literally fighting for their lives. And yet, as I join my friends in bearing their burdens, somehow my own burdens don’t overwhelm me after all, but rather they seem to take a back seat as I make room on my shoulders for someone else’s load. I am happy to sit with them, to let them know that they are not alone and to bear their burdens with them in prayer to God. Maybe, that’s why you and I are instructed to “bear one another’s burdens” – because a burden that is too heavy for one person, is manageable when it is shared. These words confirm that this is so –

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

But if I continue to share in my friends’ burdens, how will I not eventually be buried alive under the sheer weight of them all? It is because I have Someone who bears my burdens, Someone who invites me to unburden myself saying –

“Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

My Heavenly Father is willing and able to take the load from my shoulders and from yours, and to replace it with what He has to offer to me and to you, dear readers. Jesus’s invitation to those of us who are weary and worn out from carrying our own heavy loads daily is this –

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

That’s a really good offer. Actually, there has never been a better one. I’d be foolish not to take Jesus up on such a generous invitation. It’s a standing invitation, an open invitation, an invitation available to anyone who is ready to let go of all they carry with them through life that weighs them down and holds them back, and in exchange receive what God wants to give each one of us – an easy yoke and a much lighter burden. It’s an invitation I can hardly refuse.

There is no reason for me to continue to live buried alive under the weight of the world’s many burdens and troubles. My Heavenly Father is offering me relief. And because He bears my burdens, He enables me to share in the burdens of those around me who are suffering. This business of burden bearing with others becomes both a privilege and a joy. I am able to do this for others because my Heavenly Father does this every day for me. The psalmist affirms this saying –

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19)

and because God Himself bears my burdens, I am not overwhelmed, I am not buried alive – rather I am able to obey His instruction to bear the burdens of others just as He daily bears my burdens for me.

sincerely, Grace Day

counting what ?

Posted on by Grace Day

There’s counting sheep when you can’t sleep, counting your chickens before they hatch, (or not) counting the cost before you commit to something, counting cards, counting down to the new year, counting your losses –

There are a lot of things I can choose to count, but it occurs to me that perhaps I could spend more time counting my blessings and a lot less time consumed with counting my losses. These words of an old hymn come to my mind –

“Count your blessings, name them one by one . . . count your blessings . . . and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

Have I been so focused lately on my losses, that I have been oblivious to God’s goodness, faithfulness, provision and protection surrounding me on a daily basis? Why am I focused on what I don’t have when I could just as easily focus instead on what I do have? That’s a choice that is mine alone to make each day. Where will my focus be? What will I choose to count? I’ve been hanging out with Habakkuk lately and am always surprised at these words of his, even though I’ve heard them before –

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Habakkuk does start by listing some things that he is currently lacking. But then he pivots, saying that he chooses to rejoice, to be joyful in God, his Savior. Habakkuk acknowledges it is God who gives him strength and it is God who “enables him to go on the heights.” Truly, God’s presence with me brings me everything I need and more. King David said as much in this psalm –

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” (Psalm 23:1)

James said this –

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

And Paul said this in his letter to the Corinthians –

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

I already have all that I need and more! God’s daily blessings to me far outweigh my life’s losses, which are inevitable for each one of us as long as we inhabit these “jars of clay.” There are so many people that I miss on a daily basis – sometimes the pain is so prevalent that it threatens to paralyze simply by eclipsing the joy, the hope and the peace that my Heavenly Father’s presence provides me in abundance every hour of every day.

BUT – I don’t have to dwell on the pain that comes with counting my losses. I can choose instead to count my blessings. And with God, there are always blessings to count and give Him the thanks for providing them in such abundance and so faithfully. After all –

“His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

It is up to me. What will I spend my time counting? I will choose to follow the advice of these words –

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

Like Habakkuk, even in the tough times, especially in the tough times – I will look to God and count all of His daily, good, undeserved gifts that I continually receive from His hand. Like King David recounted, even in the worst of circumstances, God’s provision and protection were evident and overflowing. Rather than bemoan or count his losses, David gave account in Psalm 23 of all God’s good gifts, of all the blessings given to him, including the gift of God’s Presence always with him. When I need to be reminded to count my blessings rather than my losses, my hurts, my regrets etc. – I will start with Psalm 23, making the words my own –

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:1-6)

Too many good gifts of God to count – His presence with me, His care for me, His provision, His guidance, His restoration, His protection, His comfort, His abundance sustaining me and overflowing – these are the things I will count and recount to others – giving God all the thanks and the honor and the glory.

sincerely, Grace Day

a silent season

Posted on by Grace Day

Job felt it – God’s silence, a silence Job equated with God’s absence. Job’s complaint against God was this –

“Even today my complaint is bitter; His hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. If only I knew where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling! . . . But if I go to the east, He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him. When He is at work in the north, I do not see Him; when He turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of Him.” (Job 23:1-3 & 8-9)

Sounds to me like Job was pretty discouraged. Yet even during Job’s experience of a silent season, Job maintained hope. How do I know this? Well, Job’s very next words after his complaint regarding God’s elusiveness or apparent evasiveness were these –

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

Even though at the time, Job said he couldn’t see God, couldn’t find God, couldn’t feel God’s presence with him, Job acknowledged that God had not lost track of him. Job’s words reveal that even in the silence, Job trusted God. Job trusted that God knew right where he was and that God knew all that Job was going through during his silent, lonely, painful season.

But Job is by no means the only person to experience a silent season in relation to God just when circumstances are particularly dire. Habakkuk was someone who could perhaps identify with Job’s circumstances and someone who was also unwilling to give up on God. During the worst of times, Habakkuk had this to say –

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

I want to be more like Job and Habakkuk. I want to trust God and to praise God, no matter what my circumstances might be on any given day or in any given season of my life. My earthly circumstances are constantly changing, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. I cannot count on my circumstances to give me peace or joy or hope or anything that I need. BUT – God doesn’t change. Therefore, I can count on God. I have this assurance –

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

So even in this silent season, I can know that God has not abandoned me. I can know what King David knew and expressed so well in these words when he said –

“O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord. . . . 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.” (Psalm 139:1-4 & 7-10)

Even in the silence, even when I feel all alone, even when life is unbearably painful, I know that God is here with me. As King David said, there is no place I can go from His Spirit. God is omnipresent and He promised this to me and to you, too, dear readers –

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

God also said –

“I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15)

During a silent season, it is easy for me to become discouraged and to feel alone, unseen and unheard. Hagar was someone who felt this way when she ended up alone in the desert. BUT she was not alone and she was not invisible to God. God met her there and gave her hope and a future with these words –

“You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.” (Genesis 16:11)

And fun fact – the name Ishmael means “God hears”. Hagar had a name for God after her desert encounter with Him –

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ ” (Genesis 16:13)

When we are in a silent season, isn’t what we each want more than anything else is to know that we are seen and we are heard and that we are not alone? It can be hard to hold onto hope during the silence but God’s word reassures you and me that we are never beyond His notice, nor His watchful care –

” ‘Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)

“But now, this is what the Lord says – . . . ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you;’ ” (Isaiah 43:1-5)

And in the end, God gave up His only Son, Jesus, for me and for you, for all who would believe on His name.

In every silent season it is God’s Word that keeps me company, guides me, sustains me, protects me and brings me safely through. He will do the same for you. We are never alone, even in our silent seasons.

sincerely, Grace Day

the unhealed hole

Posted on by Grace Day

I have one. Actually, I have more than one. Truth be told, I have multiple unhealed holes in my heart. And I’m thinking you most likely have them too, dear readers – multiple holes in your hearts, that is. It would probably not be an exaggeration to say that our hearts resemble Swiss cheese, I think. We are the walking wounded of this world.

The particular hole whose presence I am feeling most acutely today is the hole left by the absence of my mom. Of course, today is always poignantly painful, being Mother’s Day. It is impossible to ignore her absence on this day when other’s are taking their mom’s out to eat or spending the day with them. I miss my mom on ordinary days, too, but this day is an annual reminder of what I’ve lost, or rather who I’ve lost.

It’s an inevitable fact of life, that the older we get the more losses we will experience, hence the more holes our hearts will accumulate. Still our hearts keep on beating even as new spaces are created in our hearts for new lives coming into this world and into our families. I choose to fill the hole left by my mom’s absence with all the good memories I have. She left me her legacy of love, her example of courage, devotion, service and faithfulness to family and to friends. This is something I continue to carry with me and never want to forget. She is no longer here to remind me to do good, to do right, to keep going and to never give up. I have to carry on her legacy in her absence. No small task..

But when I feel discouraged, I think of my mom’s faithfulness in difficult, painful circumstances. She quietly persevered. Remembering this, I know that I can too, even though my mom is no longer here to cheer me on. After all, we all need someone in our corner. And I am reminded that when I feel alone, I can know that I am not alone and that I do, indeed, have someone in my corner. God’s word says,

“God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6)

and also I have this promise –

“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.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

I don’t have to be afraid or discouraged. There is Someone watching out for me. There is Someone who has my back in this big, uncertain world. There is Someone who knows my name and the way that I take. I am not lost nor am I unseen. In fact, these words reassure me about my Creator’s love for me –

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

My mom’s love was comforting and protective and continuous – I miss that BUT – God’s love is everpresent and unfailing – He will one day heal all the holes in my heart. In the meantime, I know these words are true –

“My help come from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:2-8)

sincerely, Grace Day

perpetual motion

Posted on by Grace Day

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’ ” (Isaiah 30:15)

That definitely seems to be true of our current culture – we will “have none of it.” We want nothing to do with being still or being quiet. We are in perpetual motion – always in a hurry to go somewhere in order to do some urgent thing. We don’t stop. Maybe that’s because our surroundings don’t stop. Our culture is awake twenty-four/seven now. Some places are open twenty-four hours, they never close. TV doesn’t shut off anymore and social media is always awake. FOMO is more prevalent than ever before.

We are never still and we are never quiet. We complain that we can’t connect with God, meanwhile we are perpetually in motion pursuing many other things. We lament that we don’t hear God speaking to us even while our ears are occupied with whatever is coming through our EarPods or our headphones, continuous music or continuous conversation and comment about something. All of it a constant distraction from what really matters. Of course, you and I can become distracted without the aid of EarPods, TV, social media and all the various kinds of screen time. Jesus’s encounter with sisters Mary and Martha, which occurred centuries in the past, reminds me that distractions have always existed, long before technology provided us with new ones. Mary and Martha’s story unfolded like this –

“As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ ” (Luke 10:38-42)

Did you catch that? Martha was distracted – not by screen time, not by her social media, but simply by the task of preparing a meal for a guest in their home. You see, there have always been plenty of distractions to derail us, long before the advent of TV or of computers or of smart phones. That day, Martha was in perpetual motion, trying to get everything she thought necessary for a proper meal completed. However, Mary “was sitting” and not just anywhere. We are told “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.” “Sitting” didn’t mean that Mary was idle or that she was wasting her time. Mary was listening to every word that Jesus spoke. But in order for her to hear Jesus, Mary had to draw near to Him and then she had to be still in order to hear what Jesus was saying.

When I’m in perpetual motion, it’s harder, if not impossible, for me to hear the voice of my Savior. Like Martha, I am too often distracted by many other things. This must be why King David wrote these words describing how God helps you and me to get to a place where we can hear His voice and we can spend time with Him.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3)

I know I often long to have my frazzled soul restored but I am unwilling to stop, to be still and to take the time to listen for God’s voice. God wants to restore me, the Psalm says so. That’s why God “makes me lie down” in a peaceful place for rest, in a “green” place, implying lots of food to refresh and to restore my hungry body and my hungry soul. Green plants are food for my body. God’s words are food for my soul.

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:4)

God leads me by those “quiet waters” so that without all the noise surrounding me, I will have a chance to hear His voice. God invites me to “be still and know.” His call is an open invitation. Today is as good a day as any for me to cease my perpetual motion and to instead experience my Creator’s rest and restoration. Then I can say with the psalmist –

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.” (Psalm 62:1)

sincerely, Grace Day

against all odds

Posted on by Grace Day

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Are you kidding me? The apostle Paul wrote these words to the believers in Corinth. I wonder if any of the Corinthians took issue with the words “light” and “momentary” as descriptors of the painful trials they were most certainly experiencing as believers in their current culture and as human beings living in this fallen world. Speaking personally, I would use words like “crushing” and “endless” to describe the “troubles” that are an inevitable presence in my daily life. There is nothing “light” nor “momentary” about the trials that come to each of us through physical suffering, the loss of those we love, unrealized hopes and dreams, the hardships and challenges of living in a world where evil appears to be having its way – the list is endless. Some days there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to all the suffering and pain of my own and of others who I know and love – it definitely doesn’t seem “momentary” however – Jesus told His disciples this –

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Those words give me encouragement and hope, allowing me to keep going when things are too hard. When there is no end in sight, it is then I take to heart these words –

“We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

If I depend only on what I can see, I will surely give up. My view is limited and I can’t see everything. but if I’m walking by faith I have this assurance –

“For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

My troubles (which I can see and am currently experiencing) don’t seem temporary or momentary to me but God says what I can’t yet see is real and is eternal and is waiting for me. Peter talks about this hope and inheritance God has promised to me, saying –

“In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

My “momentary” trials aren’t over yet. Job didn’t see an end in sight for his trials. But Job, like Peter, put his hope not in his current circumstances, (which were definitely dire) but in what he couldn’t yet see but believed was coming because he trusted God. That’s why Job could say these words even in the middle of his intense suffering –

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

When there’s no end in sight and no way out of life’s pain and suffering, I don’t have to give up. Like Job, I choose to place my hope in the unseen, I choose to place my hope in the eternal. I choose to place my hope in the invisible, immortal, all knowing, all wise God rather than in anything or anyone else. Situations and circumstances may appear hopeless to me and in human terms they are hopeless – BUT –

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ ” (Matthew 19:26)

With God, Daniel was delivered from the lion’s den, Daniel’s three friends were delivered safely from the king’s furnace, and Jonah was delivered from inside the large fish. With God, Abraham and Sarah had a child, David defeated Goliath, the walls surrounding Jericho fell, the Red Sea parted and manna fell from heaven new every morning while the Israelites were in the desert with no other food source. Truly, with God all things are possible! Knowing this gives me hope in all my circumstances, especially those in which the likelihood of a good outcome seems to be against all odds. It’s at these times that God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe” is revealed, just like Paul talked about in his letter to the Ephesians where he wrote –

“I pray also that they eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:18-21)

Yes, Jesus rising from the grave on the third day was certainly against all odds, at least all human odds. “But with God all things are possible.” Knowing this, having this hope, helps me endure my “light and momentary troubles” of today, even though they feel crushing and endless to me. I can endure because I know what Job knew when he said this –

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Job knew, against all odds and despite all current appearances, what his end would be, what he had to look forward to, which was a glorious, victorious reunion with His Redeemer. Knowing this wonderful truth, enabled Job to endure his time of loss and desolation. It is the same for me and for you, dear readers. We have something to look forward to – a reunion with our Heavenly Father and our complete restoration! Currently I identify with these words of Paul –

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Maybe you, too, are feeling hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted and struck down in your daily life. Hold on! Help is on the way. Against all odds, God will have the final word.

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. . . . What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. . . . I am bringing My righteousness near, it is not far away; and My salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, My splendor to Israel.” (Isaiah 46:9-13)

To me, the delay seems long and the odds seem insurmountable BUT – you and I have this promise from our Heavenly Father –

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11)

looking forward to that day –

sincerely, Grace Day

a beautiful sight

Posted on by Grace Day

Some images stay with me longer than others. Some are etched forever in my mind and maybe in my heart as well. Maybe it’s because some occurrences are outside of the expected or the ordinary and that makes them unforgettable. At any rate, some recent baptisms at my church brought back to my mind the picture of a past baptism that I was privileged to witness. All baptisms are special and deeply personal, so why do I still recall this particular one? Well, this will take some explaining.

In my more than one-hundred years-old church sanctuary, there is no baptistry. In those days, as in Jesus’s day, baptisms probably took place in lakes or in rivers. Today, most modern churches have baptistries, eliminating the need to seek out rivers or lakes for this purpose. However, not being a modern church, we use a huge, and I do mean huge, washtub filled with water in which to baptize people. The person being baptized kneels or stands in the tub and the person performing the baptism stands next to them but outside the tub, reaching over to lower the person being baptized beneath the water and then raise them back up again. Maybe not as scenic as being baptized in a river nor as easy and convenient as in a modern baptistry, but these washtub baptisms are just as sacred and inspiring as any baptism anywhere in the world.

Still, there is one baptism that stands out to me not only because of the beautiful picture of God’s love for each of us that baptism vividly portrays, but also because this particular person faced a most unusual challenge to being baptized. The individual being baptized was wearing an ankle monitor. He had been released from prison, but conditionally. That is to say, he was not fully released. He had not completely paid his debt to society according to the law.

This is the reason he wore the large black device around his ankle. His movements were restricted and his whereabouts had to be monitored twenty-four/seven. He was serving the remainder of his sentence outside of prison rather than in prison. The electronic ankle monitor was a reminder to him (and to everyone else) that he was not yet fully free. This ankle monitor was a constant visual sign to strangers and friends alike that this person is a criminal, one who has been convicted of a crime. (whether the label is deserved or undeserved is an unknown)

Anyway, can you imagine the challenge the ankle monitor presented for this person desiring to be baptized? This electronic monitor cannot get wet. At all. Not under any circumstances. But this person desired to be baptized. He wanted to follow Christ’s example, and he didn’t want to put off his baptism to a more convenient time or to some unknown time in his uncertain future. Maybe he was taking to heart these words –

“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)

or maybe this admonition –

“Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)

or maybe he had heard the story of the Ethiopian eunuch –

“Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ . . . Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.” (Acts 8:36-38)

and knowing this story, once he knew and believed “the good news about Jesus”, he must have asked the same question as the eunuch – “Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” He was determined to show publicly what he had decided privately – that he was going to follow Jesus. And nothing was going to stop him, not even the inconvenience of an ankle monitor. He determined to follow Jesus in baptism and I was witness to his testimony that day along with many others.

What did it look like? How did he get baptized and keep his ankle monitor dry? It was an extraordinary feat. With help from men on both sides of the washtub, they lowered him beneath the water while his leg with the ankle monitor remained above the water, his foot propped up against the side of the washtub. At one point, all that was visible of him was his lower leg sticking up above the water with the ankle monitor securely in place above his foot. Then the rest of his body emerged from under the water as he was pulled upright, setting his dry foot on the ground outside the tub. Success!

We had just witnessed the miracle that baptism symbolizes – forgiveness of sins – new life – a fresh start. The person just baptized may not have received a clean slate or a pardon from local law enforcement (hence the ankle monitor remained) BUT he had chosen to take God up on His Word and he was no longer condemned in God’s sight.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

His new life had already started, even though he was still serving his court ordered probation.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” (Romans 6:4-7)

This man was now free – despite the continued presence of the ankle monitor. He had God’s promise –

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

“the Son”, Jesus, had indeed forgiven him and set him free

sincerely, Grace Day