Category Archives: Submitting to God

High Hopes

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Most of my grown children love coffee, and their preference, along with so many others of their generation, is Starbucks. They prefer to grind the beans immediately before brewing, and then they make it so strong, I have to water mine down. When they were all home at Christmas, we were going through quite a few bags of coffee and grinding it with a small, inefficient grinder by poking the end of a scissors into the slot where a lever used to be.

One afternoon I decided to make a pot of coffee, knowing we’d all benefit from the caffeine. I reached toward the top shelf where the old grinder was kept with an open bag of Starbuck’s waiting on the counter. When I pulled the grinder down, its plug nicked the open bag, knocking it to the floor and scattering coffee beans everywhere.

“Oh no!” I said out loud, picturing dust bunnies and dog hair jumping all over the whole mess. On hands and knees I carefully scooped up the cleanest beans and put them back into the bag. After all, the coffee-maker’s filter would catch any unwanted debris. But the rest I swept into a dust pan and dumped into the trash. My good intentions hadn’t done much for the coffee lovers in the house.

We’ve all heard the expression, “He did it with the best of intentions…” which is usually spoken with a serious expression and a shake of the head. Most of us assess whether a deed is good or bad based on the end result, not on the intentions.

God does exactly the opposite. Intentions are everything.

He studies us from the inside out, checking our thoughts and the intent behind every action. If we do something for someone else hoping for a favor in return, for example, our good deed is neutralized. But if we do something we hope will help another and it doesn’t (or possibly even hurts them), our intentions still count for good.

But what about our intentions toward God? Do the same rules apply?

I think they do, which is good news when we fall short of pleasing him or fail to make the right decision. If our intentions are positive, he responds with love and lets us begin again. He’ll even assist us in doing that.

Although my intention that afternoon was good, coffee-all-around turned into coffee-on-the-ground. Repairing that blunder wasn’t difficult, but what about starting over after our more serious mistakes? That doesn’t have to be difficult either, because if our intentions were good, God will sort it out. He’ll make things even better than a cup of good, strong coffee.

“The power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions. I obviously need help! I can will it, but I can’t do it. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does.” (Romans 7:18,24,25, The Message)

Triple Threat

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I’m a devotee of Neosporin, the triple-antibiotic ointment used to avoid infection and hasten the healing of minor skin wounds. Having a history of finger cuts, knee scrapes and barefoot punctures, I’ve noticed that skin fixes itself much quicker if I smear wounds with Neosporin and cover them with Band-Aids.

While working around the house yesterday along with 3 Neosporin-slathered injuries in various stages of healing, I heard a question from the Lord: “Does your triple-antibiotic salve remind you of anything?” And right away the Trinity came to mind, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In a way, these 3 “Persons” are our triple-remedy against evil. We can’t fight the devil in traditional ways, because he’s a cunning opponent who has nothing in common with skinned knees or cut fingers. We desperately need a way to avoid being infected by his evil schemes.

Ephesians 6 reminds us that when we’re battling him, we aren’t fighting fleshly wounds, so triple-antibiotic ointment won’t help. Instead we’re waging a more serious war, one with “the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil.” (v.12)

Those descriptions are scary, but God doesn’t want us to get lost in fear. Instead we’re to take advantage of our Trinity-triple-threat against all evil, Father, Son and Spirit. Together or as individuals they pack a powerful wallop against anything the devil can dish out, and we can have victory over evil only because of the three of them.

The Bible is full of people who Satan earmarked for attack, people who were given choices between his evil and God’s goodness, and not much has changed since then. Every day we’re all presented with the same two choices, and the difference between failure and success depends on two things:

  1. whether or not we really want to overcome evil, and
  2. whether or not we seek help from the Trinity-triple-threat to do so.

All of us have a natural bent toward evil. When we give in to it, we’re siding with Satan. When we fight it, we’re siding with God. The old cartoon with a mini-devil on one shoulder and a mini-angel on the other isn’t too far from the truth. But just as in the cartoon, we can’t overpower evil by ourselves. We need the triple-threat of the Father, Son and Spirit. They’ve already won over the devil (back at Calvary) and as a result, can see to it that we win, too.

Tonight as I re-bandage my superficial wounds and smear on fresh blobs of triple antibiotic ointment, I’ll picture the Trinity-triple-threat working on my behalf… which will knock that mini-devil right off my shoulder.

“Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.” (Romans 8:10)

A Dynamite Defense

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My dog Jack and I love walking the quiet lanes of our neighborhood and are familiar with every block. He knows where the good smells are and prefers certain bushes. I like picking out the places where fiddle ferns and daffodils will soon flourish.

But for Jack, his favorite part of any walk is spotting small animals. He asked if we could name the areas where they hang out, since he looks forward to chasing them so much (despite never catching any). So now as we walk, we pass Critter Crossing, Squirrel Meadow, ‘Possum Pass, and Deer Forest.

At nighttime, the narrow roads are quiet, animals tucked into their nests awaiting dawn. But last night at ‘Possum Pass, Jack got a treat. When he stopped ambling and started running, I knew he’d seen something move up ahead, and by the time I caught up, he was playing with a light grey ‘possum the size of a football, nosing it to move and wagging his tail with anticipation.

But ‘possums play possum in response to imminent danger, and a giant dog bounding in your direction definitely qualifies. This one was lying down, stiff and silent, allowing Jack to nudge him without so much as twitching an ear. When Jack realized a chase wasn’t imminent, he lost interest, and the ‘possum had cleverly avoided an attack.

We can’t, however, give the ‘possum credit for making the decision to play dead. Playing possum is an involuntary response to danger, and these critters can’t help but do it. The process involves baring their teeth, going rigid, drooling, and emitting a smell much like rotting road kill. They can even be picked up and carried but won’t so much as quiver. (I have to give Jack credit for trying to be friendly in the face of that many negatives.)

I looked at the ‘possum and thought, “Not too smart, playing dead while the mouth of a potential diner investigated your body. People would never do anything that stupid.”

But then I thought about God’s point of view. The ‘possum was doing exactly as he’d been instructed, but what do we do? The dumbest thing ever: we ignore God’s instruction. And how often do we do it? Every day.

Despite that foolhardiness, our loving God offers to help. Just as he gives every animal a defense mechanism (like the instinct to play possum), he gives people the very best defense mechanism of all: himself. He offers to personally be our Defender in the ongoing battle for our souls. He defends not just from visible enemies but invisible ones, too, those that are more difficult to overcome. He protects, guards, shields, and preserves us in our struggle.

We don’t deserve it, but he does it anyway, hoping we’ll follow his instructions at least as well as the ‘possum does.

“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15:2)