The voice of Truth

There are voices all around us. Which ones carry the most weight?

Do you have a voice you hear that speaks encouragement? A voice that regularly speaks harsh judgement?

Have you found the voice worth listening to?

Let me encourage you to consider the voices around you. If you aren’t hearing words of encouragement from the people in your life it is important to dig into God’s Word. Find a healthy place to worship that shares the truth of God’s grace, forgiveness, love, and mercy.

Once you are settled, look for others who need the voice of God’s Truth in their lives. Be sure to share it with them.

God loves you.

Jesus died for you.

And He longs to be in relationship with you.

But don’t stop there. Dig in and fill your heart and mind with God’s Word and God’s Truth.

It is the voice worth paying attention to.

Conflicting opinions

Have you ever had an opinion of someone and have someone tell you they have the complete opposite experience or opinion of the same person?

I know there are multiple sides to people — human being are complex — but to have someone see the person you love (or cannot stand to be near) in the completely opposite way is fascinating.

It’s come up quite a bit lately for me so it seems to be something that God is encouraging me to pay attention to.

I have watched this from a distance. Of course, I have been a bit smug when someone gave me the willies and it turned out they were, indeed, someone whose behaviors would make anyone squirm.

That 360 view helps — all angles does give a better prospective. But, to what end? And, truly, maybe the heart is the most important aspect of it all and only God knows what is in the heart of man.

So, we are left with what we see. And, I don’t know about you, but my vision is not perfect these days.

Discernment is so important. Considering the opinions and experiences of others can also be important but should be taken with a grain of salt.

When I see wildly different opinions on someone I tend to assume that the truth falls somewhere towards the middle. Some people are polarizing. Some people can really be a chameleon. And we are left trying to figure out what is true. And maybe all of it is true.

Maybe ________________ [fill in the blank] showed mostly be their rough exterior but a grandchild was able to experience their tender, loving side.

Maybe ________________ [fill in the blank] grew to be loving and patient and trustworthy but had burned a lot of bridges early on so people who knew them and were impacted by that earlier behavior will not ever trust them again.

Maybe ________________ [fill in the blank] showed a lot of love to a certain group of people from a distance but couldn’t quite muster up any of those warm fuzzies for their family who lived close to them.

Some things are not for us to solve or know. When I hear conflicting opinions about a person, I pay attention. There might even be conflicting opinions about me. I am much slower to change a good opinion to a bad one. But, if there is enough evidence to show the positive in someone I previously would have seen in a negative light, I am open to readjusting my opinion.

We all have our opinions and experiences. It is important to run all of it through God’s perspective. Ask Him to show you what you need to see. Why is all of this coming to your attention? What would He have you learn in this circumstance? And where do you go from here with the knowledge?

God’s perspective is the most important.

Detours

I often think about those that wandered in the desert for 40 years.

I have done my fair share of wandering.

I ask for sustenance and then whine about it. I get impatient with God’s timing and make my own idols to worship.

I can’t poke fun at them because I am them!

Some of my detours are short and some are, sadly, a bit long.

Sometimes I get derailed when life throws me a curveball. Other times I willfully run into the briars or tumble down a ravine. And then I have some bumps and bruises and scars.

God knows my tendencies. And He gives me warnings — if only I had ears to hear.

Thankfully, He never slumbers nor sleeps. I probably am a full time job. And I am thankful I am on His mind and heart and He pursues me. God wants me connected to Him and on a fruitful path. And, thankfully, He can bear fruit from the more challenging decisions in my life’s journey.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me in and through my detours and for Your steadfastness!

Father of Compassion

I stumble. I fall. I do those things I wish I would not do yet again.

Even though I get frustrated with myself, I have never once imagined God ready to pull His hair out because I am not “getting it.”

Instead, I see His mercy and grace and compassion.

It isn’t that the wrath of God does not exist. But the Bible illustrates many situations where God showed compassion: Jesus feeding the crowds, Jesus meeting the woman at the well, Jesus healing the many, many people He healed.

Maybe all of those different scenarios are for us to see ourselves in them.

God does not tire of hearing from us. When we are coming to Him it is usually out of our own need or we are coming on the behalf of others.

Even if we aren’t coming to Him with pure intentions He can take and shape our prayers to become “His will.”

As humans, we can get tired of repeated situations with the humans around us. Our fuses are sometimes short for our siblings, co-workers, neighbors, spouse, children, or grandchildren.

He is the Father of Compassion.

My prayer is that I respond as one who is frequently shown compassion, mercy, and grace. I hope to reflect my Father’s heart.

Full circle

I trust that God is doing the things He says He will.

I have to admit, I feel like full circle really means “in my lifetime.”‘

But, it doesn’t.

God works in and through generations for resolution and healing. Life isn’t just neatly tied up in a bow while I am living. And, when I am no longer alive, I can trust that God’s work continues on.

Some things do come full circle within my life but I don’t think that is the standard.

Here is a non-spiritual full circle moment that struck me the other day: My dad never visited Hungary even though he spoke Hungarian fluently and was a champion of all things Hungarian. He died when he was 40 and with 4 young children, I am sure it was on his bucket list of things to do some day but you have to feed the kids and pay the bills with a young family.

My mom took my brothers and I to Hungary within 3 years of my dad’s death. Maybe the two of them talked about her doing that when it was evident he was not going to survive. It was an incredibly brave thing to do as a single parent. Our ages at the time were 5, 8, 12, and 16.

Fast forward to 2012 when Don and I took our 4 kids to Hungary. We had hoped to go with my mom but she just wasn’t feeling up to the travel as she was ill. After she passed away, we knew we were in a golden moment before the kids had adult commitments that we wanted them to go to Hungary.

And, as a bonus, we even met some of my dad’s relatives that we didn’t even know existed before 2011!

In 1957 my paternal grandmother apparently wrote a letter to her relatives stating that she was hoping that she would travel to Hungary at some point. “So, we will leave this for the future when travel is allowed to all countries, and then we will also visit you in Tiszakeszi—by the will and grace of the Lord.”

She didn’t get there. My father didn’t get there. But I was able to get there. And, I even met the cousin she was writing in this letter! Incidentally, upon meeting us, that cousin said, “Now I can die.”

Wow! I mean, truly, she waited 55 years from that letter to meet a U.S. relative. And through the many years of correspondence there were probably even earlier references to someday meeting face-to-face so I am quite sure she waited longer than 55 years.

I think that was a full circle kind of thing. And if God can orchestrate something like that, I think I ought to leave Him to do His thing in my life and in the life of my family.

The timing may not be what I have planned and the way may not look the way I think it ought to, but, I need to trust Him in how He pulls it together.

Have you noticed something come to completion in your lifetime that was started a generation or two before you?

God is trustworthy to bring things full circle!

It was not by your sword or your bow…Joshua 24:12a

So often we think we did the conquering. But, as I am reading through Joshua, I am reminded that God is doing the work.

Sometimes I look for that magic formula for success. Or I am sure that what I said made the difference.

Maybe it is less about me.

And maybe it is more about what God is doing in the hearts of others.

Maybe my sword and bow isn’t a part of the success.

Whatever it is that needs to be conquered or overcome may need some action on my part but really is more about what God is doing.

Every day I relinquish things to God and then scoop them back up to fret about and try to control.

In truth, my best offense and defense is God!

The things we cannot change

There are so many things that are done and cannot be undone.

Sometimes, it is heartbreaking to realize that. But it is reality.

A word that has been spoken.

A deed that has been done.

Of course, there are times we can change course and somehow “fix” it. And while that may be helpful and useful and healing, the original wholeness that was messed with won’t probably ever be whole again.

There is a wound. A scar.

The memory of what was done or left undone.

But, there is always God and what He can do.

We just need to recognize that the power rests with Him.

We cannot “man handle” someone else’s response. No “sweet talking” our way in or out of things.

Accepting a reality doesn’t mean we have to like it. But, acknowledging it is a step in the right direction.

Knowing that God goes before me and behind me and hems me in makes the difficult parts of life’s journey more acceptable. It isn’t always fun, but there is joy in the journey.

Lord, help me to trust You to redeem those hard things that cannot be changed. Give me wisdom to know when things are out of my control and trust that You will work out the details.

Intentions

I generally set goals for each day.

Sometimes I am overly ambitious and don’t get to everything. Sometimes there is an emergency or at least something that gets inserted that is urgent and it takes a chunk of time to work through leaving the rest of my list unchecked.

There is tomorrow, after all.

At least I assume there will be.

Now that the days, months, and years are flying by, I need to make sure my bigger goals are being tended to. I have generally been working on them all along, but who really knows how much time there is left to accomplish them.

Of course, God knows.

But on this matter, I am in the dark. I need to keep plugging away. And making sure that He is leading the way. Often, when something is heavy on my heart, that is God nudging — and sometimes pressing — me to make a move.

Setting goals or intentions is only part of the challenge. Then there is the the actions that make them happen. And then the re-evaluation mid-stream.

Is this really the direction I want to go?

Sometimes we set off on a path with every intention of doing that thing and over time it becomes apparent that it isn’t going to happen, no matter how hard we try.

Our effort is not the only factor at play.

Sometimes it is nice to start the day with a blank page. Maybe there are a few anchor tasks here and there but, overall, the day is open to where you are lead. In this case, of course, you want to look to who you want to lead the day. What are those things pressing on you? What adjustments do you need to make on your expectations of yourself and others.

What is God doing in your day, today?

Getting worked up

In the end, I don’t think we have as much control as we think we have or as much as we think we want. We can, however, control our reaction to things.

What is getting your goat today?

Is someone acting differently than normal and you are confused?

Is someone behaving as they normally would and you are just wishing they didn’t act like that?

Are you afraid?

Are there circumstances that you can take some personal action on but the whole situation feels so big and unmanageable?

Where can you start?

My encouragement is to start by giving the situation to God.

When I find myself in this type of situation I take a walk and talk to God.

Out loud.

I talk through it. I as Him to work on the situation. And show me what He wants me to do. And if there is some way I should be involved to bridge the gap, I ask Him to point that out to me.

I may have a role in the solution beyond my prayers. And it might not be easy. I can offer my part but that doesn’t guarantee the response from the other parties.

But, giving it to God is my first step. And trusting He is working on a resolution is my second step.

What do you need to hand over to God today?

Gatherings

Some people love having large get togethers. I tend to like the small ones.

When there are a lot of people at an event I end up not really having a meaningful conversation with anyone because there is too much going on. Maybe because I am easily distracted. Who knows.

Of course, Jesus handled both large groups and one-on-one situations in an amazing way. He connected privately with the very vulnerable and publicly criticized the overbearing leaders. He spoke to thousands and healed one-on-one.

Sometimes we are required to be out of our comfort zone and participate in the size of gathering we are least comfortable in. That helps us to stretch and grow.

But it is ok to have a preference. And it is ok for your preference to change over time.

The important thing is to be sure to gather and connect.

Satan does some amazingly destructive work when he can isolate us.

If you have not been invited to connect recently, step out there and do the inviting! Take time out for a coffee or walk with a friend and catch up!