Discovering True Intimacy with Our Savior

Just Stay

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I am sitting at Starbuck’s on my lunch break. This isn’t my usual place to have lunch which is evidenced by my surprise that there is a guy here in jeans and flip-flops enjoying what could in all probability be his usual morning cup of Joe at one o’clock in the afternoon. At least that is the story that I made up in my head about him.

I’ve deviated from my usual routine for two reasons: it is a beautiful day outside and my car needed to be washed before I head to the beach tomorrow.

You might wonder why I chose to wash my car before heading to the beach, and I have one word for you: pride. I was just too ashamed for my friend, Lil, to see the dog hair and dirt that has accumulated from having a very rambunctious lab who lives to be in some sort of wet medium which hopefully is a nearby lake but is often a mud puddle.

As my car is being washed, I thought I’d catch up on some bible study. Me and the peeps are wrapping up the last couple of weeks of Kelly Minter’s study No Other Gods. I’m kind of weary of waiting for God on a particular issue right now that, frankly, just seems impossible.

Focusing on my bible study, Kelly begins to recount a football game she went to recently. She convinced her friend to leave the game early because it was apparent from the score that their team was going to lose. As they left the stands she remarked about how silly the fans were in the stadium for holding out hope that they could make a comeback.

I’m sure you can see where this is going, but for the record…

When she got home later that night, she was met with “You’ll never believed what happened!” Turns out…her team ended up making a comeback and winning the game.

She writes: “And only crazy committed fans whom I pitied on the way out got to enjoy it. They were loyal and unflinching in their dedication. But mostly, they just stayed.”

So that was God’s message to me. Just stay the course, Nikol.  Just stay.

Coincidentally, a lyric from a song playing over the speakers caught my attention in a jaw-dropping way:

Just don’t give up
I’m working it out
Please don’t give in
I won’t let you down…

Wow! I live for clear God-moments like this. I shall weep now.

Fine Lines

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I noticed something pretty remarkable about age recently, and fortunately, it was something other than the fine lines an invisible artist has begun to paint around the corners of my eyes.

What I noticed was a shift in perspective in what constitutes a problem.

Now, before I continue, let me say that I realize this isn’t rocket science. I am certainly not the first person to observe this phenomenon. But go with me back in time for a second, and let’s look at what used to qualify as a problem in your world.

  • Someone removing your pacifier left you wailing and sobbing.
  • Not getting candy at the grocery store justified flailing on the ground and squealing at the top of your lungs.
  • Breaking up with your first love, not fitting in, or having a zit on school picture day was a fate worse than death.
  • The thought of not being accepted into the right college broke you out in hives as you contemplated the disaster your life would inevitability become.

Sadly, I wish I could say that over exaggerating life’s hiccups end when we cross over into our twenties, or even into our thirties, but sadly it does not – at least for me. I definitely have areas of concern that can (and often do) send me into the outer limits of anxiety, fear or despair.

But when I look back at the struggles of my youth, I cannot help but chuckle at the absurdity of the problems, and yet, I remember them feeling so real…so important…so monumental. And it’s left me wondering…

If God’s ways are not my ways, and God’s thoughts are not my thoughts (Isaiah 55:8) are my problems even problems at all?

Does God have the same type of perspective on my “adult” problem that I do on the little girl sniffling because her best friend hurt her feelings?

I’m also wondering what problem are you facing today. As a child of God, you have access to Almighty God (Eph. 2:18). Nothing is too hard for Him (Jer. 32:17)! Go boldly into His Presence (Heb. 4:16) asking Him – not only for his resources – but for His perspective as well.

 

New Beginnings

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I find my arms are open a bit wider this year as I welcome the arrival of Holy Week and the coming of Easter.   My soul is thirsty for the refreshment this week often brings. 

Tonight, I’ll remember the last supper by going to a Maundy Thursday service followed by a small dinner with my friends.  I will enjoy their fellowship, share some inevitable laughs, and celebrate new beginnings with them. 

And in the process, I’ll remember Jesus sitting at a table with His fellowship of brothers telling them of the new beginning that lay ahead.  And I will rejoice that one of those brothers would betray Him and another would deny Him. 

I will rejoice because I have been them. 

And so have you. 

And yet, there is redemption.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  -Romans 5:8