Monthly Archives: May 2013

Without Wavering

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photo(6)Today I participated in our church’s biannual prayer vigil. By definition, a vigil is “a period of watchful attention.” It’s sometimes coupled with fasting or staying awake during normal sleep hours to focus on something special by guarding it, observing it, or praying over it. And today we were praying.

Those who wanted to participate signed up for a time slot and promised to pray then, either at the church or from another location. Throughout one day, the church and its current concerns would be continuously brought to God’s throne room.

Our church prayer team created a private atmosphere of tranquility for those who wanted to use it, complete with candles, a comfortable chair, a table, lamp, hymnal, Bible, and curtains drawn. The moments of people’s prayer times were set apart for just the Lord and them, yet we were all joining in one consecutive vigil much like links on a chain reaching from our prayer room to heaven.

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Pages of printed verses were made available, and one of the passages I appreciated today was from Romans 4:“Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.” (20-21)

Abraham had an astounding faith that believed God would follow through with what he said. The promise this passage refers to is that his descendants would grow into a great nation, this when he was already old and had no children. Even more remarkable was that during this time when he believed God would come through but hadn’t seen it yet, right then Abraham’s faith “grew stronger.”

Extraordinary! And the reason? He was “fully convinced” God would keep his word.

Before I began to pray at the vigil, I asked myself a serious question. If I’m just as “fully convinced” as Abraham was, why do I sometimes “waver in believing?”

Once in a while after God does answer prayer in a measureable way, my faith gets a boost, but that’s after-the-fact. Abraham’s faith actually grew while he waited to see God act, literally waiting for decades.

As I thought about this, I saw the next phrase in Romans 4: “In this [continuing to believe against all odds], he brought glory to God.”

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Light bulb moment! Believing that God will do what he promises, whether we see it in our lifetime or not, actually brings glory to God. I was wrong when I thought believing without wavering was about my own will power. Instead it’s about God’s glory. Continuing to believe when there seems to be no hope at all is one sure way I can bring blessing to my Father.

So when I began to pray today, it was easy to blanket the requests with scriptural promises, believing without wavering if for no other reason than to bring glory to him.

“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping.” (Romans 4:18)

 

Dazed for Days

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The storm forms.Oklahoma is not OK. After Monday’s 2 mile wide, 210 mph tornado tore through a suburb of Oklahoma City, a 22 square mile piece of civilization was no more. News reports this morning used the word “dazed” in reference to the way citizens were feeling. After viewing photos, I see why.

Oklahoma is famous for frequent tornadoes, but no one could say they’d ever seen one like this. Even storm chasers, familiar with nature’s fury, were suffering from PTSD when it was over. “People are wandering around like zombies,” reporter Scott Hines said. “It’s like they’re not realizing how to process what just happened.”

Rescued!

Although two schools and a large medical center were beyond repair, thankfully the death toll wasn’t as severe as originally feared. But even for those who came through the storm without injury, recovery will take time. As one parent said, “I’m speechless. How did this happen? Why did this happen? How do we explain this to the kids?”

“Devastating” is too mild a word. Pictures and videos of the event told the miserable tale of destruction, but one photo was different than all the others:                                a cemetery picture.

Cemetery

Although the grass was littered with debris from the land of the living, the buried-dead remained untouched. But had the tornado ripped them from the ground, it wouldn’t have mattered to them. On May 20, those who’d already died were untouchable, even by a monster-size F5 tornado. They’d already taken up residence elsewhere, and for those in heaven, that day was like any other: safe and sound.

Once we’ve died, whatever is taking place on earth quickly fades. I think of the 24 souls who left the earth during Monday’s tornado and hope they’re all with Jesus Christ. If so, their safety concerns are over. No PTSD for them, no coping with lost homes or possessions. Stressing over where to live while their homes are rebuilt isn’t a problem, and they’re guaranteed never to experience another tornado.

Mom often said, “Know your bottom line.” She was sure of where she’d be after death and frequently said she wished it was “today”. Monday was the “today” for 24 people who were (we hope) lifted from that fearsome storm straight into glory. What a dramatic change! Of course it’ll be dramatic even if we’re taken out of this world on an ordinary day.

But those 24? They’ll be dazed for days, too…. but for a much different (and much better) reason.

“The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

The Last Laugh

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Skylar, my oldest grandchild at 5½ now, has always had a way with words. Children like her keep the rest of us entertained with their interesting comments, and one of Skylar’s two year old remarks has stuck with me. She and her family were visiting from Florida, and a dozen of us were seated around my dining table chatting. Skylar’s loud, animated jabbering was interfering, and finally her mother said, “Skylar! You can’t be so loud at the dinner table. Please talk softer.”

Laughing Skylar

Always thinking and not particularly interested in obeying at that moment, she looked directly at Linnea and said, in a quiet voice, “But Mommy, it’s good to laugh.” And quick as a wink she threw back her head, opened her mouth wide, and let out a rip-roaring, ear-splitting, drawn-out mega-laugh. She knew her mother wouldn’t say, “No laughing allowed!”

Although Skylar had the wrong approach, she did have the right idea. Scientists tell us we all benefit from a good laugh, and most of us don’t do enough of it. We’ve heard of Hollywood’s artificial “laugh tracks” and know the whole idea is to get us laughing more, enjoying the benefits of giggles and guffaws and the shows that cause them. Group laughter is a way of sharing in a happy experience.

Producers and directors recognize the power of a good laugh and have learned how to expertly blend natural and fake laughter. They’ve studied how wrongly placed laughs can ruin a story line, and how laughter that’s too loud or too long can offend listeners. Who knew there was such a thing as “wrong laughter?” But harnessing correct laughter translates to dollars and cents in the world of show business.

Sometimes I think about the things we laugh at in our spiritual lives and wonder if our behavior is always appropriate. Are we “laughing wrongly” as Skylar did that day at the table?

Maybe we can learn something from her laugh-wrapped disobedience. I have a hunch most of us do something similar on occasion. Haven’t we listened to our heavenly Parent’s instructions (or reprimands) with a hint of wrong laughter deep inside us? He tells us something important, and our inner laugh track quietly says, “Yeah, right. Ha ha.”

He says:

  • Put someone else’s needs atop your own. (We say, “Laughable.”)
  • Make decisions now, based on life after death. (“Oh sure.”)
  • Love your enemies. (“Ridiculous.”)
  • Believe that the devil is out to destroy you. (“Absurd.”)
  • View suffering as an effective teacher. (“Preposterous.”)
  • Trust your life to an unseen God. (“Outlandish.”)

How many times do we outwardly agree with him while inwardly thinking, “He can’t mean that!” But he hears our wrong-laugh track and is not joining in. What he wants from us instead is “correct laughter,” which is the deep satisfaction that bubbles up after cheerful, wholehearted obedience.

As for Skylar’s loud laughter at the table, she miscalculated her mother’s response, and during her time-out, she wasn’t laughing.

“This is love: that we walk in obedience to [Christ’s] commands.” (2 John 1:6)