Objects In The Mirror

01/12/2005

Many years ago I was a Meatloaf fan. Not the food, but the musician. Do you know him? He would sing wildly crazy songs with lots of words. The tension would build in each song, bringing out every emotion along the way. He was a rather strange looking guy, and not the greatest singer, but for some reason, I enjoyed his music. He used to sing a song that went something like this, "Objects in the rearview mirror may appear closer than they are..."

Just today I was driving down the freeway here, on my way to work, which I guess is where I think through a lot of things...and I thought about that song after I glanced in the side mirrors to change lanes. I say "mirrors" because on a large truck you not only have a very large long mirror on the side, there is also a semi-large round mirror at the bottom to help see the traffic in your blind spot. After I had changed lanes, using only the mirrors to do so, it was like God whispered in my heart, "Do you see the way you just trusted the mirrors to let you know what's back there? Do the same with Me. Look at what's reflected in Me--see what's behind you and all that I have done in your life, and trust Me because of all you have already seen. That is Who I Am."

Was God using even a mirror on a vehicle to teach me more about His character?
I wasn't expecting this little "visit" right then...it was intriguing.

I have been very prayerful about certain needs we have--being very specific with God, and knowing that only "God can make a way, where there seems to be no way..." We pretty much live a miracle life right now, seeing God as our Provider as we've never seen Him before. We have seen God as our Great Healer, and those are wonderful lessons learned, but financial provisions are a whole 'nother ballpark.

I hesitate to write this message because in some ways it is so very personal. Not that I have not been called to write personal things almost every other week for the last four years, but for some reason it seems okay to let others know that your heart is hurting...it's much harder to let others that know your wallet is. I guess because it seems okay to receive a hug when times are hard, and accept it with gratitude--it's more difficult to receive provisions when times are hard, and accept them graciously, understanding that they too are a blessing from God. It's very humbling...

It's said it's better to give than to receive...it's also much easier to give than to receive, by a long shot. It's much easier to pick up the check than to let someone else do it. You may disagree because maybe it is their turn, or maybe you are a little tight with your money...but try doing it during a time when you have to let others pick up the check because you are not in a position to even offer to do so. It's very humbling...

I bet most of us would say we hate putting money out on our mortgage or our rent, whatever the case may be. We wish we could find a place that wasn't so expensive, or maybe was even free! But what if we were in a position where without accepting the graciousness of wonderful friends who welcome you to stay, you would have nowhere to stay at all? You might prefer to pay some rent. It's very humbling...

And what about when your grown children say, "Here, use our car, or let me treat you to the ballgame...let me give back to you a little of what you've given to me my whole life..." How much harder it is to receive from them, than it would be to give to them. It's very humbling...

I share with you only a few of the many, many ways we have seen God as our Provider in this last year. We have seen more miracles, daily miracles, than I could ever write to you about, and they are all there in the "mirror" if I will only take a look. God has led us and provided for us each step of the way...and yet, we are flesh and blood, and each time we come to what seems to be a higher mountain, a more challenging situation before us, we can begin to doubt if this time...maybe this time...God won't show up...

And God says, "Look in the mirror, look back at what is reflected there...see My provisions through it all and trust Me, because I am Lord!"

But what about what's before us now?
This mountain seems so huge?

Jesus replied, "You stubborn, faithless people!
How long must I be with you until you believe?
How long must I put up with you?
Matthew 17:17 (NLT)

Jesus was talking about casting a demon out of a boy in this passage of Scripture, but it's all the same. It's all about having faith in Who He Is! Not in who we are, and not in what we can do!

I don't want to be faithless, I want to be faithful! I want to believe...Lord, help me in my unbelief!

Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately,
"Why couldn't we cast out that demon?"
"You didn't have enough faith," Jesus told them.
"I assure you, even if you have faith as small
as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it would move.
Nothing would be impossible."
Matthew 17:19-21 (NLT)

That's what's before us, a large mountain, with seemingly no way around it. We can't see a way to the left, we can't see a way to the right, and we'd climb over it if we could see a way, but it's not there. God wants us to go through it, with Him leading the way. He will cause the mountain to disappear when we pray to Him...and wait...and trust...and look back in the mirror and see what God has done, and what He says He will continue to do every day of our lives...He will be all we need as we follow Him through life.

Right now I am most grateful for the simple things...like when I crawl into bed and it is warm and safe and dry, my heart is full of gratitude. There are those out on the street in the cold. I am grateful for our good health, for our children being married and happy and starting their families. How we'll all be together for Christmas, something that has not been for a few years now. I am so grateful for the new joy God has put in our hearts for the future He is calling all of us to. There is so much, and yet my flesh wants to cry out, "How do we get from here to there through this mountain that's right before us?" I can only quiet my fleshly fears in prayer and by being in the Word.

Reading about Jesus feeding the thousands with just a few loaves of bread, God was telling my heart, "I can multiply. It is not impossible for Me!" So this morning I picked up the few dollars that were on my dresser. There were five. I laughed, just like the five loaves of bread. I lifted them up to God and I prayed, "Lord, take these few loaves we do have and multiply them!" I took a closer look at the bills, I looked for the inscription of "In God We Trust." It is still there, it made my heart glad...

I have read many times in Matthew 6 about the lilies and how they grow, about not worrying about food or drink or clothes and how our Father already knows all our needs, and he will give us all we need from day to day if we live for him and make the Kingdom of God our primary concern. (Verses 28,31-33)

I cling to these verses as we travel this most challenging journey right now. I pray that we are not missing something...that we are living for Him and making the Kingdom our primary concern. I don't doubt Who God is, but I can start to doubt who we are. Whether we are doing enough...and then Pastor John preaches about Jesus telling the fishermen to leave their nets behind and follow Him. He didn't say go out and fish and fish and fish, and make a good living.

He said, "Follow Me."
Our desire is to be right behind you Lord, lead the way...!

And yet my mind gets to thinking, "Lord, can it really be that way, even in this day and age? We left our nets behind and have been following You. Last December You said, 'Leave.' It seemed we heard You clearly, we went where You led and did what You asked. It has brought us here, to a place of coming full circle to await Your next direction. To this place where we are learning about You as our Provider. To a place where if we don't hear Your next instructions, we won't know what to do at all... We really don't want to go back and pick up our nets again and start making our own plans. We want to follow You with abandoned hearts."

God is teaching us about His provisions as we go, just as we learned about God's great healing power in our brokenness. There was a day when I thought I would never laugh again, feel happy again, have fun again...and I do! We do! Life is joyful, exciting and adventurous! God continues to heal our hearts from great pain, as He continues to stretch our faith in Him in other areas of our lives each day.

God's Word says, "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there you heart and thoughts will also be." (Matthew 6:19-21 NLT)

We don't have much in storage here on earth. Recently I was asked if we have a lot of clothes in storage. Many people who live full-time in an RV, keep a supply of clothes elsewhere. We don't. Basically, what we have in our closets here is what we have. That's fine with us; we're not much on large wardrobes anyway. We do have some sentimental things that are kept in storage, including some things we bought overseas, lots of pictures and a few other items. Everything else we own, travels with us.

We also don't have a large bank account somewhere to tap into; we have basically used every resource we had this past year doing what we believed God asked us to do. When it came down to giving up our life insurance policies, I have to tell you, that was a tough one for me. We had paid into them for many years, and we simply could not afford the payment anymore. I pleaded with God, "If not for us, then for our children Lord. If something should happen to Jim, allow me to make life easier for our kids with that money." God said, "If you're children need something, even from you, I will provide it for them." He pried the policy out of my heart, and gave me peace that He would take care of all of us.

Piece by piece, God has been removing all our treasures here on earth, and teaching us to trust Him with every aspect of our lives. Those are tough lessons. He is stripping us of anything that binds. It is a long, arduous process that stretches the heart, the mind and the soul to the limit. But in the course of those lessons, He is filling our lives with all that is most precious. God has blessed us with two wonderful daughters-in-law, two beautiful granddaughters and a very active grandson on the way. There is joy in the journey! He has surrounded us with awesome friends who continue to encourage us along the way! Our families and our friends make us rich beyond measure!

And still, we face mountains...and still we go running back to our Father...like He might not know...but His Words says, "Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs..."
What silly children we can be!

"It is a major part of your mission to be where you are..." That's what it said! That's what jumped out at me and would not let me go when I read a devotional just the other morning while having my quiet time.

"God, is that You?" I wondered... Why would this line not let me go, why did it speak to my heart so, was God impressing it upon me? I believe He was, and it was comforting. If this is a major part of our mission to be where we are right now, physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, then we can surely rest in the midst of the battle and watch what God will do through it! That's exciting! That leaves me breathless with wonderful anticipation! I'm ready to see You work here God, I'm like a kid at Christmas not knowing what packages will turn up under the tree this week, this month, or even this coming year! I'm willing to wait on You...

There's a story in Luke about a woman named Anna. It says she was a prophet who was only married seven years when her husband died. She spent the rest of her life living in the Temple. She stayed there day and night worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She was there when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus there to be dedicated to the Lord. I have to believe it was a major part of her mission to be where she was on that day. It says she "came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about Jesus to everyone who had been waiting for the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem." (Luke 2:38 NLT)

Anna could have wondered for years if she was doing the Lord's will after her husband died, spending every day, all day, and all night, at the temple fasting and praying. She might have been asking God if that was where she was really supposed to be? She might have had questions as to whether God would provide for her while she spent her days in prayer? Wasn't there more that she should have been doing with her life? And yet, to this day we can read about her. Her story warranted a large paragraph in God's Holy Word! She was there to meet Jesus, the Son of God. It was a major part of her mission to be right where she was on that day. To wait there and see the Gift that would be given to mankind! What might have seemed an insignificant life to the world at large was a very large life to God above! His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts...

"Any problem that comes between God and myself springs out of disobedience; any problem, and there are many, that is alongside me while I obey God, increases my ecstatic delight, because I know that my Father knows, and I am going to watch and see how He unravels this thing." (O. Chambers Dec. 14th, My Utmost...)

When I was young, under the age of ten, I remember one Christmas that was not quite as wonderful as I was expecting. All the presents had been opened, all my siblings were excited, but honestly, I was disappointed. This was unusual because Santa (my mom) always did such a great job of picking out just the perfect things, making Christmas just what any child could want--but it didn't seem so this year.

And then...after everything was opened, and it looked like I had been short-changed, like my dreams of the perfect Christmas morning had been dashed...another small gift was "discovered" under the tree with my name on it. I opened it and read the note inside. It said, "Go look in the garage." In the garage was my new purple Schwinn bicycle! Was I ever thrilled! My dreams had come true! Santa was my hero once again!

The great thing is, God is so much greater than that! God is not Santa Claus. He will never disappoint. He is not an imaginary man in a red suit with a white beard riding around in a sleigh once a year delivering gifts. God is true. God is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, the real deal! He can be trusted to never let us down, even when it seems our hopes have been dashed, our dreams have been smashed and our lives have crashed! Anna's life might have seemed tragic, lonely, without purpose, but "It is a major part of our mission to be where we are." It is not a mistake, it is part of a greater plan, full of the promises of God that we can depend on.

I sort of chuckled the other day after we saw the movie, "The Chronicles of Narnia." I'm not much of a fan of fiction, but this was a well-done movie. On the way home as Jim and I talked about the movie, something dawned on me...I love the stories in the Bible so very much because they are true stories. Of all the fiction books my friends have recommended, I have tried to read some of them, I just can't get through them, they don't hold my interest. I'm not saying they are bad, I know they are great books full of humor and love and life, but I like non-fiction...and that's why I love the Bible! The stories are about real people, with real walks of faith, real challenges and real promises of God coming true as the battles rage all around them!

And so, as this latest battle rages and this mountain stands before us....I need to keep looking in the rearview mirror and remember what is reflected there...God has never left us!

If we can have faith even the size of a mustard seed, we will see God move this mountain! We will look back one day and see what He has done once again. We will add it to all the other times that God has made a way where there seemed to be no way!

I can't wait to finish this true story with just how He did it!! Because I know God is saying,
"I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27 NLT)

In other words,
"Keep praying day and night, and keep watching for Me, and you will see Me...
You'll see there's another gift there under the tree...and it has your name on it..."
What could it be?

...to be continued...

As the New Year of 2006 begins, and all the presents are gone from under the tree, and now even the tree is gone for yet another year, what did you find there? Did you find your heart's desire? Did you get the gift that keeps on giving? I did!!!

It didn't come in a box...
It didn't even have any special Christmas wrap on it.
It wasn't something I could hold in my hand, but it was bigger than a bread box...
It was huge!!
It was God's gift of peace of mind and heart.

I just finished reading, "part one" of this story, and read again the Scripture "I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27 NLT)

There are many ways to experience this gift, just as there are many ways this world can steal our peace, make us troubled or afraid, cause us to doubt and fear--but when we hold onto faith the size of a mustard seed, the mountain moves from here to there with barely a whisper. The fear dissolves, the doubt is cast aside, and even though the trouble may remain, the peace that God gives us through it all diminishes the trouble's importance. When nothing has seemed to change at all in our circumstances, great miracles have taken place in our hearts because the peace God gives is not dependent on our circumstances, it's dependent on Who He is.

Maybe nothing has changed in our world, but everything has changed in our heart. Perhaps we think we just cannot live without that special someone, and we find that God is more than enough. Perhaps we think we cannot live in a new place, in a new way, and we find that God leads us exactly there in a way we never expected Him to, and it's okay. Perhaps we think our life is over, never to be the same again, and God brings us through it and shows us a new life, a new way, and a new Hope in Him.

God, and God alone, continues to work in us so we can see things in a way that may make sense to no one else but us, but because it is a personal transformation of our heart by our Creator, we are at peace with it.

God has shown me in the past that He provides just what we need, just when we need it. I have seen many miracles to prove this point, and yet God then takes it even a step further sometimes...by not providing when we expect Him to, and asking us, will you trust Me with even that?

John the Baptist was in prison, (Matthew 11) and he heard about what Jesus was doing on the outside. He sent some of the disciples to go ask Jesus if He was the true Messiah, and Jesus sent word back to John that indeed, He was. Jesus told them to tell John about the miracles He was performing, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and making the lame walk. I wonder what John thought as he sat in prison? I wonder what he thought about Jesus' miracles when Jesus was not coming to free him, not even loosening his chains, but allowing him to remain there until his death? I'm sure John must have had a good many questions in his head, but one question I bet he never had...once he was assured that Jesus was the true Messiah, he didn't question Who was in control. John knew all was well with the world because His Messiah had come! It didn't matter if he was a free man, or lived the rest of his days behind bars, he knew Jesus lived and would reign forever--and one day John would be there with Him too!

That is ultimate trust! That is the "whatever" I long for in my own life. We hear that word "whatever" used so much today, especially by our young people, and it is a good word. It can be an easy way to say, "My life is yours, Lord...here, there, anywhere. In joy, in sorrow, in sickness and in health, earthly needs provided for or not. My Hope is in You."

If You heal me, You are Lord. If you don't, You are Lord.
If You provide for me, You are Lord. If You don't, You are Lord.
If You make a way out of this situation, You are Lord. If not, You are Lord.
If You help me, free me, show me, speak to me, bless me...You are Lord. If You are silent, if I feel alone, if I can't hear You, if times are hard, YOU ARE LORD!

That's the gift that God left for me this December. After all was said and done, after all the presents were unwrapped and all the decorations were taken down, after all the family had gone home and life returned to normal as the New Year began, peace reigned. The enemy continues to scream, "BUT THE MOUNTAIN, THE MOUNTAIN, WHAT ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN?!!!"

The mountain makes no difference, if it's there, it's there. If it's not, it's not.
Whatever...Jesus is still Lord!
The sun will rise, the sun will set, and whether we sit in prison, whether our hearts are broken, whether our wallets are empty or full, whether our families are with us or far away from us, God is God, and those who believe in Him can soar over the roughest terrain of this world and be filled with His peace!

Seem too simple? That's what the enemy would like all of us to think...he wants us to remain that ugly worm that crawls along the ground where every molehill seems like a mountain. God wants us to be transformed into a beautiful butterfly that flies over it all and sees it from His vantage point.

As the New Year begins, many make resolutions for change in their lives. Wanting to do better, be better, look better...whatever the case may be. God too desires change in our lives, but change that comes because of Who He is in our lives. He wants us to see reflected in the mirror all that He has done, or not done, and how through it all He is using it to transform us from the inside out. God wants us to be able to say, "Whatever." Not in disgust, not in rebellion, not with a hardened heart, but with a heart that has been so softened by Him and is so full of His love for us, that there is no fear left concerning this world or anything it can do to us.

That's what I found "tucked under the Christmas tree" this year. When all was said and done, Jesus pulled out one more gift and said, "Look what I have for you--an even greater peace that will take you into the New Year as free as a butterfly!"

John the Baptist may have been seen as an ugly worm to the world as his body was held in prison, but in his heart, he was flying! His world would never be the same because he knew His Messiah lived!

With a new view,
Diane