For the Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ
Somehow, the dry, dusty brown of this earth has a way of sinking its fangs into the most beautiful fragments of creation and dimming their light. The earth was meant to be a flourishing place, yet, the dead places strip the live places of their beauty and turn creation into a wasteland.
But there is still goodness here.
Sometimes, we get so caught up in thinking about things – trying to rationalize why things happen, trying to pinpoint all the good things God is doing when life is complicated – when we really just need to lower our eyes, rest our heart.
Have you calmed and quieted your soul?
In this bleak midwinter, a take a moment to stop thinking…and to rest in the God who thinks of you.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and there are so many beautiful, biblical reminders of gratitude and contentment being tossed in my direction. Yet, I have one question still resting on my heart as I prepare for the joyful celebrations and traditions that will take place tomorrow….
What would happen if Jesus showed up?
The ugly truth of garden snails is the ugly truth of the human heart too: both are full of a parasite that kills them and anyone who encounters them.
The lovely grace about garden snails is that they can be cleansed from their parasites! But it requires a tedious work that involves their death.
This is the difficult, beautiful glory of God. It is full of grace and truth.
He delights to grow beautiful things within our souls.
And so, He reaches out, with a Kingly sovereignty and a Fatherly heart, waiting, asking: will you follow the roads? Will you go where no one dares to go? You asked for my lamp to guide your feet…and I faithfully will.
But if the roads lead to graveyards…will you still walk them?
As humans we live in a world that is temporarily ruled by a king of darkness. This darkness leads us to utter blindness. And the paradox of the darkness is that we must acknowledge it to be rid of it.
We must acknowledge our blindness.
For who can give sight to a man who sees? And God wills that we see what the blind men see.
The God of the Israelites’ wilderness is the same God of the Israelites’ parted sea. The God of David’s valley of the shadow of doubt is the same God of Calvary’s hill. He does not change that I might better see Him. My faith is strengthened that I might better seek Him. And in seeking Him I see Him.
Therefore, my soul cannot help but tell of the treasure in the lowly places. For He is working there.
And I don’t want to miss it.
We live in a world of broken nights. We live in a land of shattered hearts. Our lives are endless poems without rhymes; tapestries unraveling in a tangled storm.
But this is our hope, that one day Christ will return. And on that day all the praise will go to Jesus.
All the praise. . .to Him alone.
The world isn’t only changing through people with powerful voices and sharp minds. The world is changing by people, genuinely disturbed by the lack of hope and the world’s craving to be seen, known, and loved.
There is beauty in disturbance when it draws us nearer to God’s heart.
When the Israelites turned from God repeatedly, allowing their questions and doubts and confusion to overwhelm their wearied hearts, and when they so stubbornly and selfishly denied their Redeemer and Creator…still He remained faithful. And throughout all the prophets this theme continues, woven in an endless and beautiful depiction of God’s love despite our human inconsistencies and flaws. This theme to slow down…and remember.