Above the noise

But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1

Since I’m not a coffee drinker, I make a fruit smoothie every morning for breakfast. As you can imagine, our blenders get a lot of use. In fact, we just had to purchase another blender because the old one gave out once again from all the work. The new blender is amazing. It’s sounds like a race car when you start it, but it gets the job done.

Some mornings, I love to turn on that loud blender because it drowns out all the other noise going on around me for just 45 seconds. My husband on his phone, the kids arguing about who gets to brush their teeth first, the phone ringing and the never ending questions about breakfast or the location of shoes. Yes, sometimes that 45 seconds it actually welcome.

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; Isaiah 43:2-3

Although this works for brief moments in the morning, using noise to cover more noise isn’t the greatest option, but sometimes it’s the path we choose in life. We try to drown out the worries, pain, betrayal, fear and sadness of life with temporary things with busyness, shopping, denial, etc. It takes a lot to get above the noise in this world we live in and I don’t know about you but I’m interested in a permanent fix not just one that last for 45 seconds.

Our permanent fix is God. We are not capable of handling life’s pain, worries, obstacles and sadness without His strength, His courage, His love and His power. I read once that “His voice is for the ear of love, and love is intent upon hearing even the faintest whispers.” He offers a place above the noise where we can rest in His word and His promises. Meet Him in the pages of His spoken, living word. He is waiting for you to join Him there.

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1

Take Cover

“These (trials) have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:7, NIV).

What a week!  Change happens fast and you never know what is around the corner. Charles Swindoll says, “We never know ahead of time God’s plan for us so be ready for anything.” Have you ever read a more true statement? This week, my husband and I were tackled with a combination of betrayal and reality. We had made several life changing decisions based on facts that we learned were being yanked out from under us. I held back tears as my daughter and I discussed our days. I told her that I felt like crawling into bed and hiding under the covers for a little while.

We all have those days, don’t we!? Those days we wake up wishing we could hide from the facts, from the reality of the situation and the truth. But that isn’t an option because the situation won’t go away just because we hide from it or try to pretend it isn’t there. My son has been saying “I surrender” for days because of the games he and his friends from school have been playing. He asked me what it meant to surrender and I told him it meant to give up or give in. So, I asked him why he thought people surrendered. He said, “because they are scared!”

Many times, we aren’t able to surrender to God until fear sets in. When I looked up surrender (Bing), I found it doesn’t just mean to “declare yourself defeated” it also means to “give up possession of something” and “give something out of courtesy”. What would it look like if we gave God our lives and possessions out of courtesy?

Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39

When we give up possession of our lives and our plans, we discover  life in Christ and find that what He has to offer is so much more than we could ever imagine. His peace, strength, grace, truth, comfort, forgiveness and love endure forever. The troubles, the pain and the problems we have here will not endure forever, but our God and His promises remain true from everlasting to everlasting.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

Be ready for anything!

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Do Over

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Mark 8:34-36.

Have you ever have one of those days? One of those days you had all planned out, but when the day began everything seemed to go wrong or at least not the way you had wanted it to. When events side swipe me in the middle of life my mind can become dizzy with the unknown details of events and even though I have no control over them worry begins to penetrate my thoughts.

“Hand it over to the Lord” my heart screams as my mind tugs back trying to take control again.  Denying the god of me, myself and I can be a constant struggle some days. Sometimes, I wish I had a way to hit the pause or rewind button to go back and start over. “I need a do over”, my husband and I say. Often, a “do over” seems like a much more appealing option than having to stick it out where my circumstances have landed me.

My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled. Psalm 17:5

But, I wonder what I would miss if I was able to do that. Would I grow in Christ if I always took the easy way out. Would I see Him at work in my daily life if I never stumbled off His path? More importantly, would my life shine in such a way that led others to Christ? I feel confident in answering “no” to all of these questions.

For your ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all your paths. Proverbs 5:21

The Lord knows what obstacles are trying to overtake us because He is walking with us. He is able to keep us from stumbling if we allow Him to help us. He will reveal Himself to us through words of encouragement and peace if we seek Him through His word. The good news is that we don’t need a “do over” because Christ already took care of that when he died for me and for you on the cross.

having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14