Q.   back in the day, why didn’t people raise their hands up in the air while worshiping/singing in church?

A.   we were holding hymnals

(for full disclosure on this topic see the post “worshiping ways”,  archives Sept. 2018)

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”   (Psalm 98:4)

sincerely,      Grace Day

Sounds like a very racy romance novel, doesn’t it?  Or maybe a reality TV show? Actually it is very real, it is my reality, it is my daily life.  I should know, I am one of them.  I am in fact (and have been for many years) a lady of the cul de sac.

You see, I’m fortunate enough to have some wonderful women as my neighbors on this cul de sac we all call home.  Now our lives may not be the stuff of TV primetime dramas, full of exciting, albeit questionable escapades and such.  No, our lives are something infinitely better – they are real lives.

And they are full lives.  They are full of the humor, the pain, the joy, the loss, the learning, sharing, striving, struggling, searching, persisting and prevailing that characterize our days.  (that’s a list just full of drama if you ask me)  No wonder we’re often exhausted, that’s a pretty intense list.

I think it all started with bible study.  We bonded over bible study, all sharing a common desire to know God more personally and more deeply.  We pray together and we pray for each other.  These deep bonds are the foundation of our friendships upon which we have built over the years.

We have added many things to that foundation.  One of us has a “fitness/yoga studio” in her home where she has us doing yoga or cardio on a regular basis.  She is looking out for our physical fitness and encourages each of us in this area.  We want to be physically fit as well as spiritually growing!  We have had/have a book club off and on, depending on our schedules.  Some of us are good cooks (we all benefit from that)  we share recipes and secrets as we share our daily lives.  (and sometimes secret recipes?)

We have parties to celebrate special occasions and parties for no reason other than to get together.  We have garage sales to get rid of stuff and we shop together to buy more stuff.  We encourage each other.  (like when we went shoe shopping and encouraged each other to “buy the shoes, you need them, they look fabulous on you, you’ll regret it if you don’t get them and (the clincher) besides, they’re on sale!”).

Life isn’t just parties though, not even for the ladies of the cul de sac.  We’ve shared funerals and the loss they represent in each of our lives, with each other as well. Truly we are living out, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”  (Romans 12:15)

We have prayed each other through surgeries and illnesses.  Actually, one very adventurous lady of the cul de sac is currently in a cast as I write this.  However, nothing keeps her down for long – she will rise again!  (really, it’s not slowing her down all that much even now)

We ladies of the cul de sac bear one another’s burdens.  And that is a wonderful thing, to have someone share in your pain, to know you are not alone in your sorrow or your heartache.  We pray for each other and we pray for each other’s husbands, children and grandchildren.  We pray knowing the legacy of eternal life through faith that we each long to leave our loved ones with when we are gone.  “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  (Galatians 6:2)

For these sisters in Christ I am daily grateful even though I don’t say it often enough.  We pray together, study God’s word together, eat together, exercise together, shop together, party together, play cards together, laugh together, cry together,  . . .

Ladies of the Cul de Sac  —  so much more than a reality TV show —  it is real life!

“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!”   (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

I love you ladies of the cul de sac,   grateful to be one of you  –

sincerely,           Grace Day

 

 

 

no, I’m not describing a person, I’m talking about my tires.  As it turns out, the reason my tire pressure light was on all this time, was because all my tires were over inflated.  Yes, I finally had them checked out and this fact was discovered. It was corrected by letting some of the air out of each of my tires, bringing them all down a notch or two, so to speak, to their correct operating pressure.  Apparently, it is not good to drive on tires that are over inflated or under inflated.  That’s why the warning light comes on, so I will know when my tires are not at their intended, best operating pressure.

The irony is, the time before this when my tire warning light was on, all four of my tires were under inflated – air needed to be added, not taken away.  What is going on with my tires anyway?  What got them so puffed up, proud and over inflated? Don’t they know that’s no way to roll in this life?  Apparently not, because all four tires had become over full (of hot air) and needed to have some wind taken out of their sails, so to speak.

My tires have been taking up a lot of my time lately but they’ve been teaching me, too.  What are my tires telling me?  Well, my puffy, proud tires remind me we are not to go through life that way, over inflated and full of self (self importance and self indulgence) – that is not how God wants me to roll.  Matthew 23:11-12 is pretty clear, “The greatest among you will be your servant.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”  (that was my tires’ problem, they had become too puffed up and needed to be humbled, taken down to where they were intended to be in order to function best)

Proverbs 29:23 reminds me, “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”  Paul’s words in Romans 12:3 ring true as he instructs me, ” . . . Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

I am warned (kind of like the warning light in my car telling me my tires were becoming over inflated) “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”   (Proverbs 16:18)

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”  (1 Corinthians 10:12)

I may have ignored the warning light in my car a little too long this last time, allowing my tires to continue to grow in their overly inflated state, unchecked.  I do not want to continue in prideful ways, ignoring the warnings in God’s word.  I want to take to heart the instructions Paul gives in Philippians 2:3-5,

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus:  . . .  He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name,”

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”   (1 Peter 5:6)

Lord, help me not to be like my tires were;  puffed-up, proud and over inflated.  I am not useful to You when I am in that state.  Humble me, so that I can serve Your good purposes.

another time I will write about living under inflated, as my tires were before they became over inflated.  God does not want me to live under inflated either, as I cannot serve Him well in that condition anymore than I can serve Him in my over inflated condition –  but that’s for another post . . .   until then  . . .

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

light is usually a good thing – there’s moonlight and starlight and candlelight and the spotlight and the light at the end of the tunnel and guiding light and light that shines in the darkness – all good things.  But the light in my life right now is a warning light, a harbinger of doom, a recurring nuisance that I have come to dread.  That’s right, the tire pressure light in my car is back on – AGAIN!  This is not the first “again” either.  This is the fourth time in the last month she has come on to warn me that all is not right with my tires.  Something is amiss.

But what?  She does not tell me that, just glows bright orange silently from the dashboard daring me to defy her and continue driving as usual.  The first time I heeded her warning and took the car in to have the tires checked.  It turned out to be a nail in one of the tires, which necessitated buying a new tire.  OK, problem solved.   (see post “I gave my car a tire”)  Or so I thought.

Then my tire light came on again. I waited a little bit longer this time, but I did take the car in.  This second time she came on, it turned out that one of the tires was over inflated, setting her off.  The problem was corrected, pressure equalized all around and my tire light was OFF, again.  Peace of mind was restored.

But not for long.  My tire light soon illuminated my dashboard again, quite unexpectedly.  So I ignored her for awhile and continued driving around as usual. She did not go away but continued to light up my dashboard. Finally, the stress of driving with this warning light on all the time got the better of me and I took my car in again to have the tires checked.  This time all the tires were under inflated. Go figure?  They told me it was due to a change in the temperature which was the weather’s fault for going from hot to cooler suddenly.

So the nice people at the car place restored my tires to their proper pressure once again and sent me on my way.  I was now driving tire light free!  I was ecstatic. But my joy was short lived.  Yes, dear readers, my tire light is on again and has been for several days now.  I am doing my best to ignore her but it isn’t easy.  This light is a constant reminder to me while I am driving, that something is not right with my tires yet AGAIN!

But I am tired of driving to the car place which is far from me and the journey is also perilous because of monumental road construction taking place on the very route I must take to get there.  So I am in the midst of a stand off.  I don’t like driving with my tire pressure warning light on and I don’t like taking the time to make the long trip through all the construction to the car place, just to set things right.  After all, I’m getting along ok, aren’t I?

What to do?  My car has cried wolf  way too many times.  or has she?  Each time I’ve taken her in there has been a real problem, something not quite right. Question is, ‘how long am I willing to continue driving around on tires that aren’t quite right?’  Apparently longer each time, because it’s now been over a week and I still haven’t made the trip back to the car place.

Am I being lulled into complacency because I’ve now driven so long and so often with my tire light on that I no longer think of her as the warning light that she actually is but simply as just another ever present presence on my car’s dashboard, such as the gas gauge or the speedometer?  My tire pressure warning light being on has definitely become my “new normal”.  I hardly notice her anymore.

Except when I do.  And it is then I remember,  this is NOT normal, this is a warning light, telling me that something is not right and that I should find out what it is and get it fixed!  But that is SO inconvenient.  It will require of me both my time and my money.  I don’t want to spend either one on my tires!

Now it occurs to me that I can be like this about other things in my life also.  I think about the words in Hebrews 3:15, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”  Do I ignore God’s voice when He’s trying to warn me that something’s not right and I need to find out what it is and fix it? (preferably before I end up with a flat tire, stranded on the side of a road somewhere, far from where I want to be)

I don’t want my tire light to be the light of my life – the only light I have.  I want more than just a warning light to guide me.  And that is just what God gives to me. Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”   That’s a light I can live with!

Psalm 27:1 reassures me, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?”

I need a guiding light in my life and I have found one in God’s word.  “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  (Psalm 119:105)  I do not have to walk in darkness.

Though my tire light serves its’ purpose, it is not the “light of my life” – that role is reserved for my Heavenly Father alone.  ”   . . .  God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.”   (1 John 1:5)

“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)

thank You, God, for the warning lights You send my way to keep me safe – but most of all I thank You that You are the light of the world and of my life – I never have to walk in darkness.

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”  (John 1:4)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul was a paradox.  He was the former Saul, now Paul.  He had been a persecutor of Christ followers, now he was persecuted because he had become a Christ follower.  Paul was now being persecuted for proclaiming the very truth that he had worked so hard to suppress once upon a time.  But now, Paul knew the truth and he could not keep silent.  Paul knew the true identity of Jesus. This was revealed to him as he traveled on the road to Damascus.  It was there Saul had an encounter with the Living God.

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’  ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Saul asked.  ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’  He replied.”  (Acts 9:3-5)

Through this encounter Saul learned that Jesus is who He said He was all along. When Saul realized that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Deliverer, the Redeemer of Israel and of the world, the Son of God, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Savior  . . . that Jesus was everything the Scriptures had foretold He would be . . .  everything changed for him.  This realization born of revelation changed Saul into Paul.  It changed him permanently.

God had plans for Saul, far beyond simply changing his name.  God would change his heart and make him a new person, with a new purpose in life.  Paul’s purpose was no longer to persecute those who knew who Jesus is but to proclaim the very truth of Jesus’ identity that he had worked so diligently to suppress before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.’ ”  (Acts 9:15-16)

Yes, God had a purpose and a plan for Paul all along.  And on God’s plan the path for Paul led straight to and through prison, not just once but multiple times.  God’s plan for Paul to carry His name to so many people and to so many places was actually accomplished because of, not in spite of, Paul’s time spent in prison.

This is counter intuitive to be sure, but true nonetheless.  Paul was traveling to visit churches in many places such as Rome and Philippi and Corinth.  But he was often prevented from visiting in person due to being detained in prison.  So Paul wrote letters to those believers he was longing to visit in person.  And because he did, we have many of the books that make up the New Testament.  Books such as Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Timothy, Titus – these were all letters written by Paul to the believers in these locations.  Had Paul been there in person, he would have had no need to write a letter.

Paul acknowledged this when he wrote in his letter to the Philippians (1:12-14), “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians he said, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.”  (Eph. 6:19-20)

Paul didn’t let “being in chains” stop him from his purpose of sharing the gospel with everyone and anyone.  He wrote letters to those he wanted to visit personally. He stated in Romans 1:11-13, “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong –  . . .  I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you,”.

Paul pours out his heart in his letters to these churches and to Timothy and Titus as he sits in prison, prevented from doing what he wanted to do, which was to preach the gospel in person to all these people.  As it turns out, Paul’s letters had a wider audience down through the ages, that is to say, they reached more people than his physical presence with them at that time ever would have done.

What Paul’s persecutor’s intended for his harm, (to detain him in prison, thereby preventing the spread of the gospel) God used for His good purposes – to actually advance the spread of the gospel and give us several books of the New Testament.

If Paul’s plans to visit these various churches had gone as scheduled, he would have had no reason to write letters to them because he would have been there in person preaching and teaching.  It is a good thing that God’s purposes are the ones that prevail, not ours.

The paradox of Paul is that the very thing that was meant to keep him from his God given calling of taking the gospel to the world, (imprisonment) was in fact the very thing God used to ensure that Paul would indeed proclaim (through his letters) Christ’s gospel, to all people for all ages.

As Joseph said to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  (Genesis 50:20)

Paul made his travel plans but God had a different plan for him, a path that led to and through prison.  Proverbs 19:21 says it clearly,  “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”   thank you Lord that You are Sovereign!

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

though You send me no husband (even though You have the entire planet and everyone in it at Your command, from which to select someone especially for me)-still, I will trust only in You.

even though my book does not sell – still, I will continue writing about Your great love and endless mercy

even when no one reads my blog – still, I will pour out my heart to You, proclaiming Your truth, praising Your name, acknowledging my need . . .

even when I must rise before dawn – I will give You thanks for my job

even when my tire light comes on (again and again) – I will give You thanks for my car

when I am lonely – I will rejoice in Your presence abiding with me

when I am weary – I will rest in Your strength which sustains me

when I am filled with pain – I will be grateful for Your comfort

when I feel invisible – I will remember that You know every hair on my head and You see the way that I take – I am not invisible to You because “My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body.” (Psalm 139:15-16)

when my dearest dreams lie dead and buried, I will remember that You are the God of the impossible, “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”  (Romans 4:17b) – I will hope only in You

when those I love most don’t seem to love You – still, I will persist in prayer, for You have said, ” . . . at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  (Galatians 6:9)

even when I am not where I want to be – I will give You thanks and praise, trusting I am where You want me to be

I will trust in Your sovereignty, O God

I will rejoice in Your sovereignty, Heavenly Father

I will rest in Your sovereignty, Lord

I will give thanks to You in all circumstances because You are sovereign over all circumstances, events and peoples

I will hope only in You, for You are sovereign, Lord

“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)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:  Rejoice!”  (Philippians 4:4)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

forgiveness, lets love in, as a previous post, “from listening to love”,  pointed out. But the true gift of forgiveness is that it unlocks the door and provides the path for reconciliation to enter in and make her home with us.  Reconciliation is one of God’s good gifts, the miracle of healing for our broken relationships, the miracle of restoration, returning to us what unforgiveness has robbed us of through the years.

We are all in desperate need of reconciliation.  We have been since the fall, which refers to Adam and Eve’s (and through them mankind’s) falling out with God which took place in the Garden so long ago.  This falling out happened because Eve and Adam decided to do things their way rather than God’s way.  They decided to trust themselves rather than trust the One who had created their garden, who had created them, who had created the universe and everything in it.  They thought they knew better than their Creator, so they disobeyed His instructions and ended up hiding from Him, guilty and ashamed.  Separation had taken place. Reconciliation was needed.  Forgiveness would make reconciliation possible. Without forgiveness, they would remain separated from God.  So would we.  So would I.

We long for connectedness and community (as facebook attests to) but we don’t seem to be able to achieve it or to sustain it.  We are alienated from our Creator and we find ourselves alienated from each other as well; from those we live with, from those we work with, from those we share this planet with.  God has provided the solution to our alienation problem.  God has made a way for us to be forgiven and with that forgiveness comes reconciliation to Him.  God accomplished all this when He sent Jesus here to live and walk among us.

“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation-”  (Colossians 1:19-22)

Forgiveness frees us from accusation and makes reconciliation possible.  Once we are reconciled to God, we can be reconciled to each other.  God has already prepared the path that makes this possible.  “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.”  (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Forgiveness is that necessary stepping stone to reconciliation.  Without forgiveness reconciliation cannot take place.  It is forgiveness that lets in love, love allows the healing necessary to restore what was broken.  Jesus told His disciples to forgive others ” . . . not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  which meant there was no limit to how often they should forgive others.  In Colossians 3:13 we are told to “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Because Joseph was able to forgive his brothers, (the brothers who had put him in a pit, then sold him into slavery) he was able to be reconciled to them and to his father, who thought he was dead.  Because the father of the prodigal son was able to forgive him, the son was restored to his family through reconciliation.  King David was forgiven by God and restored to right relationship with Him.

The gift of forgiveness is the miracle of reconciliation and restoration that we experience in our relationships when we practice forgiveness in our daily lives. Because I have experienced and received forgiveness so often and so freely from my Heavenly Father, I am able to extend that same forgiveness to those around me.  I can do no less.  I am commanded to do no less.

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  (Matthew 6:14-15)

God’s forgiveness of my sins allows me to be reconciled to Him.  Like the father of the prodigal son, He stood ready to forgive me even when I was still a long way off. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)  He didn’t wait for us to have a change of heart or for us to ask for forgiveness – He made a way for us to receive His forgiveness and the reconciliation that would come with it.

“For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!  Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”  (Romans 5:10-11)

The deepest longing of my heart – to be connected to my Creator and connected to those around me – satisfied through God’s gift of forgiveness, which He extends to me and to you.  Being reconciled through forgiveness to God then allows me to be reconciled through forgiveness to those around me whom I love and long to be connected to.

I have received God’s gift of forgiveness.  It is a gift that is meant to be given to others generously.  ” . . .  Freely you have received, freely give.”  (Matthew 10:8)

yes, forgiveness opens the door and lets in love, reconciliation and restoration.

”  . . .  But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”   (Luke 7:47)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

you know what I’m talking about – like one of those makeovers on Good Morning America.  They pick women from the crowd outside watching their show and totally transform them – well new hair color and cut, new make up and new clothes and shoes.  It’s fun and the results are dramatic.  Those women are totally transformed before our eyes.  I celebrate with them as I watch from my living room.

But how long will it last I wonder?  Thing is, this makeover transforms the outside while leaving the inside untouched and unchanged.  I’ve often thought a makeover would be fun.  (Who doesn’t love new shoes and somebody else doing your hair?)  But a makeover doesn’t satisfy my need or my longing for a total transformation from the inside out.

Paul had one of those, a total transformation, and it was pretty dramatic.  So dramatic in fact, that it required a name change to go along with it.  He was Saul, then he became Paul.  Saul was a persecutor of Christians.  Paul became the one persecuted because he was a Christian.  Saul put people in prison for their faith. Paul was put in prison by people such as he had been, for that same faith.

From the persecutor to the persecuted – total transformation does that to a person.

Maybe that’s why Paul wrote so much about rejoicing in all his hardships and suffering, he was glad to do it for the Jesus he loved so much – who had loved him so much first.

So much so in fact, that Jesus had sought Saul out while Saul was busy causing harm to those who followed Jesus.  He went so far as to make Saul blind so that he could see the light and realize who Jesus really was – the Messiah that Saul had been waiting for and watching for all of his life – and this Messiah had come and gone and Saul had missed Him – until that day on the road to Damascus where Saul met his Maker and received his makeover.

Saul’s total transformation began with him being made blind for three days.  He had been blind to Jesus’ true identity and this physical blindness would be the way in which Saul would gain his spiritual sight.  “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say  to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’  ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.  ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ ”  (Acts 9:4-5)

Thus began Saul’s total transformation.  A blinding light, a personal encounter with Jesus and Saul was now Paul.  All his energy and enthusiasm, all his dedication and desire, which Saul had used to persecute the followers of Christ – Paul used to serve the Jesus he now knew and loved.

God had a purpose and a plan for Paul – which necessitated a total transformation of this man before he could be used by God for His good purposes.  “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go!  This man (Saul/Paul) is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.’ ”  (Acts 9:15-16)

I would like a dramatic, totally transforming makeover of myself.  I could be the new me, whatever that would look like – just like the ladies on Good Morning America – quick, miraculous, painless transformation.  They just had to show up, to present themselves as available, to trust those in charge of hair, make up, wardrobe etc. and then to let those professionals do their jobs and work their miracle.

There is a transformation coming for me that will be quick and painless like that one.  “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”  (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

This is a total transformation that lasts forever!  I will be clothed with the imperishable!  Now that’s a wardrobe that not only lasts but never goes out of style!  I love that it takes place “in the twinkling of an eye”.    Nothing like I am experiencing now in my daily life amid the mundane as it were.

You see, I am being transformed even now.  It’s just not one of those blinding light, twinkling of an eye kind of transformations.  It’s a long, slow, painful process yielding results not always readily recognizable.  This transformation is so gradual that it is mostly imperceptible while in progress.  Results are not always visible except maybe in hindsight. This is true for the climber who labors one small step at a time ever upward, putting one foot in front of the other, not realizing how far he has come, until he looks down and sees that he has indeed made progress.

Like water wearing away at rock – rounding, smoothing, perfecting, beautifying, bringing out all the hidden layers, patterns, designs and colors in the rock – not seen immediately, but revealed over time – this is the transformation that takes a lifetime- this is what my Creator is accomplishing in me as He works in me slowly, patiently, gently but persistently – until His work in me is finished.

God is continually pouring over me – “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”  (Philippians 2:13)  His good purpose of a total transformation in me from the inside out, making me more like Christ, a little at a time – chipping, chiseling, wearing and washing away everything in me that does not belong there, everything that does not bring glory and honor to Him as my Creator –  so that all that is left is the beauty He created in me which will one day be revealed, like the beauty hidden in the rocks – (no instant gratification or quick fixes on this transformation plan)

But like the ladies getting their morning makeover, I do have to make myself available, to present myself, to give myself up into my Heavenly Father’s hands and to trust Him to do the work of transformation that He wants to do in me.

“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   (Philippians 1:6)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I’m reading these words, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its’ work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  (James 1:2-4)  and I’m pondering the apparent contradictions contained in them.  Contradictions which nonetheless, real life experience proves true.

First of all, the words joy and trial don’t seem to belong together in the same sentence.  And yet there they are.  But what stood out to me even more was the promise that these trials, this “testing of my faith” was going to leave me “mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  How can this be?  I thought hardships and trials were meant to tear me down and to leave me weaker but God says trials are to build me up and to make me stronger – not to take something from me but to give me something?

James says, “not lacking anything” –  am I to understand that God’s purposes in my trials are accomplished not in taking something away from me but in giving me something – something of so great a value that I could not gain it in any other way? He wants to give me “all things” so that I will be “lacking nothing.”

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”  (Romans 8:32)

Maybe before my Heavenly Father can give me “all things”, the things that He knows I need, the things He wants me to have – maybe first He has to take from me what weighs me down, what keeps me from my purpose here, what keeps me from my destination – so that He can replace what He takes with what He knows I will need for where I am going, where He is leading me.

Trials are like the tides, washing away the trash, leaving behind treasure in the wake of waves retreating – taking from me what God knows I must let go of and bestowing on me treasures I did not know to ask for – how could I?  I did not know such things existed.  Such gifts His presence bestows – nameless, priceless, all sustaining – His peace that passes understanding, wrapping the untold treasures of my trials together – waiting for me to unwrap them, to uncover and discover the gifts He’s given while I persevered unaware  . . .  ( even perseverance being God’s gift – the gift the testing of my faith bestows)

Who would have thought – my trials are enriching me, not depleting me.  “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”  (2 Corinthians 4:17)  My trials, disappointments and heartaches are not keeping me from my destination, my destiny – they are the true path to my destination.  I will not arrive there in spite of them but because of them.

God wants me to be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” and by His grace that is how I will one day arrive.  My trials and troubles in this life are being used by my Heavenly Father to accomplish His good purposes in me. What my culture tells me is bad for me, God actually turns to good because my Heavenly Father cares for me and “works all things together for good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose.”   (Romans 8:28)

For now I am “confident of this, that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 1:6)

I will continue to experience more testing and more trials – “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”  (Job 23:10)  and in the end I will be lacking nothing  . . . my Heavenly Father will make sure of that . .

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sometimes I feel like a small child on a road trip.  I am continually asking my Heavenly Father questions such as “how much longer?” or “are we there yet?”  or “is this it?”, only to be disappointed each time as the trip continues with no end in sight and no definitive or satisfying answers to my questions.  I am left to wait and to wonder as I continue my journey of faith by following the path He leads me on each day.  I can’t see or know what lies ahead for me, which causes me worry and anxiety.  It’s the not knowing that is so unsettling for me.

These words are ever present in my mind, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Ephesians 2:10)  WOW!  I have been created for a purpose (destiny) and God has already prepared things for me to do in advance!  Now you can begin to understand why I have these questions about my life’s journey.  I’m not just starting out in life like a child is.  So why am I still asking these childlike questions?

Sometimes I feel like I haven’t arrived at my destiny yet, the purpose for which I was created.  I am still searching for it.  Do I even know what it is?  What it will look like?  Do I not recognize it?    So I continually ask my Heavenly Father as we travel together, “is this it?, is it this?” – as I try different ways of making a difference in this world.  I feel like I’m on hold much of the time, still waiting to see many of my prayers fulfilled.  As I wait, I find myself continually questioning – “how much longer?”, just like the child in the back seat of the car on the road trip.

Like the child on the family road trip, I don’t want to miss out on anything and I’m in a hurry to get there.  (wherever there is)  Likewise, I don’t want to miss out on anything God has prepared for me to do and I don’t want to miss anything along the way that He might want to show me or to teach me.  I don’t want to be so focused on searching for my purpose or my destiny that I miss out on the beauty and the joy of my journey.

Still, I find myself asking God, “am I there yet?” and “I didn’t miss it, did I?”. (whatever it is)  Did my disobedience or blindness or hardheartedness or selfish busyness cause me to miss what You prepared all along for me to do?  I am very much the child on this road trip that is my life, traveling with my Heavenly Father in the driver’s seat. And that revelation alone should put all my anxious questions to rest.  God is sovereign. He is driving.  He’s got this!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

He knows the way – He is the Way!

“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 1:6)

God will make sure I arrive at my destination -the destination He prepared for me.

“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)

those good works that God prepared in advance for me to do – (Ephesians 2:10)

This road trip I’m on has had and will continue to have twists and turns and molehills and mountains (and potholes) and rivers and deserts but with the Lord as my driver, as my shepherd, He leads me   . . .

“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)

sincerely,       Grace Day