The Minefield

This world is a minefield.  We are in a battle and so much of the time the weapons we are facing are tucked away under the surface—until you hit them and they're no longer hidden.  Its, at times, explosive.  As I keep hearing of achy circumstances at church, at school, with family, and across our world I was given this picture of a mine field.  That's what it feels like.  How do you live this one earthly life navigating landmine after landmine?

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory."  

Ephesians 1:7-12

As I read these verses this week I was refreshed by the truth that we have been predestined according to His purpose and He is working all things according to His will.  If the Creator of the universe has this overarching plan to eternally save you according to His plan, wouldn't He have an overarching plan to keep you, to equip you, to guide you through the rest of this earthly life?  He goes on to tell us in Ephesians 1:13-14:

"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

We are guaranteed as sons and daughters of the King of kings that we will receive our inheritance—He is keeping us as we have been sealed by His very Spirit!  Then in verses 15-21 we are told:

"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come."

God grants a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.  When this world feels like we are dodging explosives that are tucked away He is not hidden.  He makes himself known and He enlightens the eyes of our heart to carry on.  I believe that He is whispering guidance—giving us light to see what step to take next as we face the battle field.  He is going before and is our shield.  

My heart breaks for the people who don't know Him.  Who are cowering through this battle—trying to inch through the full expanse of this field with heartaches all around.  Our prayer should be with them as we look around and see the excruciating pain of this world that they are facing without a Victor.  Because as His children I believe our Victor not only equips us to walk through, and around, and over the trials, but even to dance through them with joy.

"Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!  For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation."  Psalm 149:3-4

I feel that the Lord has been speaking to me about remembering what this means for the body of Christ, as believers, facing this rocky course set before us.  He tells us where to step—avoiding the snare of the evil one.  He is mighty and capable—nothing surprises Him and He knows the name of every landmine.  I think as believers we need to seek His voice and step where He is directing.  

Though I whole-heartedly believe that God guides us away from trouble, I also believe that He equips us to walk through it.  Throughout history when you look at war, even the side that is victorious faces struggle and loss.  I believe that even as followers of Christ we hit landmines.  We hit setbacks.  We feel pain and grief.  

The questions are: what do we do with it?  Do we roll over?  Do we rise?  Do we seek the Helper—Sustainer—Provider?  

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were facing the fiery furnace in Daniel 3 the Lord didn't remove the fire from them.  He didn't tell them to side step that landmine—instead He literally equipped them to walk through the fire.  In Daniel 3:24-25 it is recorded:

"Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.  He declared to his counselors, 'Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?'  They answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.'  He answered and said, 'But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.'"

What.  He is so good.  He is faithful.  He is leading and prompting.  He is equipping.  There are landmines, but He is our Champion.  We are victors because He is The Victor.  Praise the Lord!

As God has been speaking to me and reminding me that as believers we need to fix our eyes on these truths, He has also burdened my heart to pray for those walking through this fiery battle field without any hope of victory.

The Lord has burdened my heart and your heart with specific people for a reason.  I think as we battle through this life we are also battling for these broken hearts.  

Through a vivid dream this past week God reminded me of Psalm 91—specifically, to pray over the people He has burdened my heart with for this cause.  My prayer is that these verses would ring true for them:

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty...He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.  You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.  

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.  You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

'Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.  When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'" Vs. 1, 4-16

Please Lord, command your angels regarding them—regarding us.  

This is a heavy topic, but the truth is this life is hard and sometimes I think we need to call even the achy parts out by name.  Rest in the truth that He is leading us, equipping us, and giving us victory through the small battles as well as over the whole war!  

Landmines hurt, but we are being refined and His Holy Spirit is keeping us.  Just as He assured us in Ephesians, we are guaranteed an inheritance.  Let the victory lead you to praise just as it did in 2 Chronicles 20:27-28:

"Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.  They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord."

Thank you, Jesus, our Victor.

The Unexpected

This past week I have been blessed to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for spring break.  There were flowers blooming, the grass was green, the ocean waves were rolling, and most of the time the sun was shining.  It gets to this part of the year and even as a Northern Michigander I still start to expect spring—I expect to see flowers, wear sandals, and sit out in the sunshine.  This year I drove back from South Carolina to a slight blizzard.  This is not what I expected (even if in Michigan it really shouldn't be a huge surprise)—nor desired.  But, God—He started talking to me about the snow and reminding me of truths that in my human flesh I let slip away at times.  

The odds are that if we are close I've told you at least once about one of my favorite truths about creation—so bear with me as I nerd out for a second.  In college I remember learning about snow and that every single snowflake starts as a particle of dust, soot, or bacteria.  Water coats the particle and freezes around it; as it swirls around in the cloud more and more layers of water turn to ice crystals surrounding this dirty core.  We all know that no two snowflakes are exactly alike—but they are all beautiful and all alarmingly white as they first fall to the earth.  

I remember thinking that this was a cool fact when I first heard it in that lecture but continued on with my day and didn't give it any more thought.  It wasn't until a couple days later, after leaving a stressful school meeting about student teaching that I walked out to the most beautiful coat of fresh snow, completely untouched.  I didn't see another soul on campus and I remember God completely taking my breath away as He revealed to me in that moment just how beautiful of a picture that truly is.  David tells us in Psalm 51:1-7 after committing adultery with Bathsheba:

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; was me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

When He washes us we are made whiter than snow.  The beauty of this Psalm was lost on me until God taught me the truth of what this means.  The core of snow is literally dirt.  It's dirty—seemingly useless and without purpose.  It's not until that dirt is coated in layer upon layer of ice crystals that it's made beautiful.  

We are the dirt.  Our core is dirty.  When we come to faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we are coated and washed clean.  Once for all we are made white as snow.  But one of the countless things I love about Jesus is that He doesn't leave it at that.  Even after we can rest in the assurance that we are saved and He is keeping us, He continues to coat us again and again in His love and grace.  Enveloping us over and over again in His beauty just like a snowflake is coated again and again in layers of ice crystals.  And the more we are coated—or refined, the more we start to look like The One who is covering us.  God's goodness and His salvation for us is literally written within creation.  I can't help but look at snow now and pray to God that there would be the same number of people being made white as snow as snowflakes floating to the earth.  

In God reminding me of this truth today He's been speaking to me about how He shows up—because most of the time it's how we don't expect it.  In Isaiah 9:6 we are promised:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

This promise came to fruition in Luke 2:6-7 when we are told:

"And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

That’s unexpected.  For the Creator of the universe, the King of kings, and Lord of lords to come in the most humble means.  As a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, to a young, pure mother.  

In Luke 19:35-38 we are told:

"And they brought it (a donkey) to Jesus and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.  And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.  As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'"

That's unexpected.  Jesus our King came on a donkey—not a strong steed, not a magnificent caravan, but a humble donkey.  The very people praising Him as He enters Jerusalem would days later be yelling out "crucify him!"—because He came in a way that was unexpected.  

In Matthew 27:49-54 it is recorded:

"But the others said, 'Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.'  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the son of God!'"

That's unexpected.  The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace hung and died on a cross—a sinners death.  That when He yielded up His spirit the earth had a visceral reaction.  

In Luke 24:10-12 we are told about Jesus' resurrection:

"Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.  But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened."

And later in Luke 24:36-43:

"As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 'Peace to you!'  But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.  And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?  See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.  Touch me, and see.  For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.'  And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.  And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?'  They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them."

That's unexpected.  Could it be true!?  That Jesus was risen.  That His body was truly before His disciples.  That He beat death.  That the grave could not keep Him.  Jesus goes on to tell them in Luke 24:44-49:

"'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.  But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.'"

Even when He had told the disciples exactly what was to happen, when it actually came to be, it was unexpected.  We are a people that not only expect God to show up how and when we expect Him to, but we also forget when He tells us very clearly what He intends to do.  

God has been speaking to me today about how He shows up.  It may look differently than we expect or even (in our human flesh) desire, but He is present and He always will be.  We may have been expecting spring weather or budding flowers to be speaking to us of new life this Easter weekend—but He sent the snow.  It preaches the same thing.  It equally reveals His beauty—but it’s different.  It’s unexpected.  

So what is it in your life that's unexpected right now?  How is God showing up in a way that you weren't necessarily prepared for?  

I feel challenged to seek God by asking Him in the coming days "What 'spring-snow' will you send today?  In what ways are you going to show up that I don't expect?"  

Because if I'm being honest with you, I don't want to be one of the people that missed out on seeing God because I expected Him to look different.  I don't want to miss out on the glorious things because I was going a million miles a minute.  I don't want to get to heaven and hear of all the times God moved and I missed it, because I was looking for something different.  I know this: He has shown up, He will show up, and He will never stop showing up.  My prayer is for eyes to see Him—in whatever way He chooses to come.  

Thank you God that you come in ways that we don't always expect, but in ways that we always need.  You are the risen Christ—the only one powerful enough to resurrect and restore.  Today we celebrate you—for all the ways you've shown up—whether unexpected or not.  In Jesus' all-powerful, all-loving, always moving name,
Amen.