An Anchor for Our Souls
Church this past Sunday
I’ve been shaken lately by the state of our country and our world. Shaken by the hatred people keep spewing at each other; by COVID-19 and the reality of our new normal; by our divisive political system; by racism, racial tension, and riots. I could go on and on. I am shaken, but I am not overwhelmed.
There’s only one reason I can live today without total fear, anxiety, and disappointment:
Jesus.
He is my hope, as firm and secure as anchor.
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself: I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you. And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:13-20)
I am easily tempted to put my hope in changing, temporary things. Even as a believer, I still fail to trust God, and I still look to earthly things to satisfy me. Here’s a few that tend to make the rotation. Perhaps you can relate:
Work
Money
Home
Stability
Comfort
Control
Relationships
Marriage
Children
Health
Government
These things are fading away. This world is not our permanent home. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). We desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16). God tells us to not love the world or the things in the world (1 John 2:15). Instead, “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
Christ is on the throne. He is unchanging, and He is always true. He keeps His promises. As the author of Hebrews writes, God wanted to show his unchangeable promise even more clearly so he guaranteed it with an oath. What does that mean?
To see the full picture here, we need to start in the Old Testament. Tim Keller’s sermon “A Covenant Relationship” has helped me understand this oath more clearly. In Genesis 15, God tells Abram that He will bless him and make his offspring as numerous as the stars. Abram believes God but wants to know how he can be sure. Remember Abram is old, likely in his 70s at this point, and his wife Sarah is barren.
So God asks Abram to arrange dead animals, cut in half, in two rows. Abram thought he was setting up what a typical oath would look like: A servant would kill the animals, divide them, and arrange them in two rows. Then the servant would walk between the pieces to swear loyalty to their master. The servant is essentially saying if they don’t keep their promise, may they be cut into pieces like those animals.
What instead happens is that God Himself passes between the pieces. Keller explains, God is promising that He will bless Abram, and He says He will die if He doesn’t fulfill this! Furthermore, God doesn’t ask Abram to walk through the pieces. Abram doesn’t make an oath whatsoever. This is all God.
God made this oath with us. He gave us Jesus, and our hope as believers is firm and secure.
As Keller perfectly states, “Jesus Christ absolutely fulfilled the conditions of the law so that God could love you absolutely unconditionally.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or lost, maybe it’s time to turn off the news, delete your social media apps, and look to God’s Word. (Hello, preaching to myself here.) Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). If we want peace, we have to look beyond this planet. We have to trust in the promises of God and take encouragement from His great hope.
If you’re not a believer in Jesus or you don’t know what to think about all this, will you message me? I’m praying this crazy time leads you and many others to love God and live for Him.
And if you are a Christian, then let’s remember to lift one another up by the hope of the gospel. By the fact that God took on the curse we deserve and still guarantees us the blessing, by faith through grace. Let’s be the light this world needs.
Hope in a Time of Restlessness
The coronavirus is not a surprise to God. He is almighty, all-powerful, and all-knowing. God is who He says He is, and He really can be trusted.
Raise your hand if you’re feeling restless.
I’m willing to bet you’re holding both hands up high.
During this time of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing, we’re all feeling a bit stir-crazy in our homes. It’s important to keep perspective and do our part to prevent the spread of this potentially fatal virus. And if you’re healthy, remember that the elderly and immune-compromised thank you.
Restlessness isn’t fun, but restlessness can be a gift.
God has taught me so much about restlessness this past year as a stay-at-home mom. I’ve had to adjust my definition of productive. I’ve had to see the value in spending more time at home and doing seemingly little things that often feel invisible. Last fall I wrote about my transition from career woman to stay-at-home mom. Here’s an excerpt:
I love being a SAHM. I love staying home with my son, and I feel incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to do so. I know this isn’t the case for many moms who desire to stay home but need two incomes to support their families. While, yes, we’ve had to make some financial sacrifices—like continuing to rent rather than buying a home and driving one car rather than two—the choice has been easy. This is what is best for our family.
Yet the prideful, approval-loving part of my heart still felt wounded when I was straight-up told no to my offer to work remotely. Since handing in my resignation letter, I’ve reached out to my editorial contacts to begin writing again, something I very much love to do. I’ve either been denied or ignored, and it’s frustrating.
Working is what I’ve done my whole life—from school to college to full-time career woman in NYC and Nashville. It’s what I know. It’s what’s comfortable. I enjoy working, and I am constantly striving to be “successful.” (Goodness, whatever that means.) I also tend to compare myself to others, so when I’ve been asked what my son and I do all day, I instantly turn from confident to sheepish.
I felt like I had to justify the statement, “I’m a stay-at-home mom.” But I truly feel proud of my job now—not sheepish. I’ve had months to process my new vocation. Through it, the Lord has prepared me for this time of social distancing and isolation and provided perspective I can now share with you.
Our worth doesn’t come from our jobs, our bank accounts, the number of groups and activities we engage in, or how much we check off our to-do lists. It doesn’t depend on our children’s behavior or education. Not on our social life or relationship status. Not even on the cleanliness or organization of our homes.
It’s way too easy to get wrapped up in these things and ultimately find our identity in them. I didn’t realize until I decided to stay home after having my son that my sense of worth was intimately entwined with my writing, my full schedule, and my approval from others. I don’t like to be still. I don’t like to rest. I want to move and be on the go. This striving and impulse for achievement is rooted in my desire to control. I want to be in charge, and I want to do things my way. God has been stripping me of this control for years, reminding me He is in charge and He is worthy of my trust.
Maybe He’s teaching you the same thing through COVID-19.
We value our control, freedom, and autonomy—just as Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Rather than trusting in the Lord and the provision He established for them, they took matters into their own hands. They ate the forbidden fruit. They questioned God’s goodness.
“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”
“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Did God really say that?
Is God really good?
Can He really be trusted?
We’ve been wrestling with these questions since the beginning of time. But Jesus, God’s own son, went to the cross and answered “Yes” to those questions a million times over.
He is really good, and He really can be trusted.
The coronavirus is not a surprise to Him. He is almighty, all-powerful, and all-knowing. What if this awful virus is the thing that He’s using to bring you back to himself? To finally force you to surrender to Him and live in light of the good news?
What if He wants you to stop your striving and rest in Him?
I know this is all easier said than done. I’m still learning, too. But I believe in God’s Word, and I believe He is who He says He is. I’m praying for health and healing throughout the world. I’m praying for miracles. I’m praying more people come to know the Lord personally and begin to live their lives for Him because of this virus. I’m praying God’s glory would be undeniable. I’m praying for you.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Steadfast in Every Season
Back in January, I wrote about my word of the year and why I chose "steadfast."
steadfast (adj.)
(1) Firmly fixed in place: immovable.
(2) Firm in belief, determination, or adherence: loyal.
"I pray God cultivates steadfastness in me like His son, Jesus. This year, I pray my faith is resolutely firm. I want to be devoted to God no matter the situation or season. His love for us is unwavering—I want that kind of love for Him in return. I know I am prone to worry and anxiety. I like to be in control. But God, I give that to You.
Lord, help me to stand firm in the faith. Guard me against sin and temptation and keep me focused on you. Give me steadfastness. Endurance for the fight and total surrender to the King.
That's the life I want to live in 2018: steadfast and true."
Here we are, 7 months later, and I need that steadfastness in my life.
I have felt my emotions running the gamut these past few weeks. Anger, frustration, impatience, irritability. I have felt like a hormonal teenager all the time, getting annoyed by the slightest things and allowing a cloud of negativity to hang over my usual sunny self.
Charles and I recently moved, and I find myself rooting my emotions in the state of boxes in our apartment. When our home feels disheveled, so do I. I let my emotions carry me away, rather than anchoring myself in the Father above and the truth I know in Him.
God loves feelings. Jesus Himself experienced the depth of feelings while here on this earth. He knows deep joy and love, grief, anxiety, and empathy like no one else. He understands feelings because He is the One who created them.
So my feelings are not a bad thing. My feelings are not a problem in the eyes of God. Instead, my feelings are meant to show me more of Him. When I am upset about a messy apartment or frustrated that I can't do things exactly my way, what does that say about my heart?
I think about Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph, whom God loved, was put through situation after situation in which his faith was tested. Yet he never wavered. He followed God, and he credited all to God's righteousness. Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and left to die. Then his brothers changed their minds and sold him as a slave to men passing by. Why let him die when they could prosper off his pain?
Joseph ends up serving Potiphar. Potiphar’s wife demands the young and attractive Joseph have an affair with her. He denies her, and Joseph ends up thrown in prison, hated by both Potiphar and his wife.
God still follows him.
“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keepers of the prison… And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”
He's respected and given more responsibility than the other prisoners. He helps the chief cupbearer get out of prison—and the cupbearer forgets about Joseph. Two. Whole. Years. Pass.
Finally, the cupbearer remembers Joseph. He gets him out of prison by telling Pharaoh he could interpret his dreams. Joseph explains how Egypt will have 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine, and he helps Egypt prepare for this impending famine. So Pharoah uses Joseph and exalts him to the highest position in his kingdom.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Throughout his entire story—which spans years—we never see Joseph lose his cool. We don't see him freak out in the prison or complain to God.
In fact, Joseph is the complete opposite. He is steady, he is faithful, he is true.
God is with him in all that he does. Joseph reflects the steadfastness of God, and he’s a symbol of the Messiah to come. He shows what it truly looks like to have unwavering faith that isn’t disturbed by feelings or situation. His example encourages me in this season where my belief falters. From the pit to the prison to the riches in the house of Pharaoh, Joseph walks with God.
What would it look like for us to walk with God, regardless of circumstance? What if we remembered God walks with us even when we don’t feel His presence? I think our lives would look quite different. Our feelings would become more steady. And our emotions would serve as a way to point us to God, not detract us from Him.
“Lord, give me steadfastness like Joseph, like the Father, like Jesus. Keep me steady, peaceful, grateful. Help me walk with You in every situation and season. I pray all these things in Your name. Amen.”
If you want to talk more about Jesus Christ and faith and what-the-heck-is-all-this-stuff, shoot me a message. I love meeting new people, whether virtually or in person, and gabbing about life.
And if you'd like to know more of my story, you can read my testimony here.
Truly, He makes beautiful things.
Wrestling with God
When you become a Christian—when you turn away from your sins, when you believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, when you decide to live for Him—you're not offered a perfect life. You're not even offered a life of pure happiness. But you are offered an eternal life that makes this one completely pale in comparison. This eternal life with Jesus where there's no sin, no shame, no fear, no pain. No worry and anxiety. No health issues, no relational strife, no homelessness or poverty.
Every tear will be wiped away.
Until we reach heaven with Christ, or until He comes again, we will experience suffering on this earth. We will have hurts. Becoming a believer doesn't mean you will make lots of money, have the perfect family you've always envisioned, kill it in your career, or never deal with mental or physical health problems. A lot of popular authors, speakers, and even ministers today would have you think that. But if we look to God's Word, we see that actually, becoming a believer frees us from all those things. It means we'll face hardship but can walk through it with Christ on our side. It means we have hope beyond the mess of this world. It means when things feel hopeless or out-of-control, we can know God has got this all. We can be assured that our life doesn't end when our heart stops beating because we know we're joining Jesus in His Kingdom for eternity.
Don't just take it from me; take it from God’s Word.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again. But as I told you, you’ve seen me, and yet you do not believe. Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me but should raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
God wants all to believe in Him and have eternal life.
As we go through life here on earth, we'll wrestle with God. There will be moments of doubt, confusion, distrust. There may be entire seasons of these feelings.
And God may also use difficulties to draw you to Himself and to make you more like Christ.
I read Genesis 32 this past week, and it was as if I read it for the first time. A little background: Jacob, grandson of Abraham, son of Isaac, and father of Joseph, is preparing to meet his estranged brother, Esau. Jacob and his family are about to encounter Esau and his entire army. We're talking hundreds of men. Jacob has plenty of animals, but he's not at all ready for this. The night before he sees his brother, Jacob wrestles with God:
Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he replied.
“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.” The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping because of his hip. That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.
The passage is mysterious, to say the least. The notes in my study bible say that we know the man is a messenger from God. If this man was able to dislocate Jacob's hip, he could have clearly defeated him at any point. Yet Jacob wrestled with him all night. Why? What was the point? Jacob wrestled, he struggled, and he went through strife. Sometimes that's what the Christian life looks like. We wrestle with God.
God does not want us to suffer. Let that be clear. God isn't sitting up on a cloud like Zeus, throwing lightning bolts down to strike us and knock us out. We know that God is good. He is faithful. And he works all things for His glory.
His glory, not ours.
Sometimes God allows us to suffer, and He allows us to wrestle with Him, so that He is ultimately glorified. So that we trust Him, serve Him wholeheartedly, and recognize that our true satisfaction is only found in Him. Wrestling with God reminds us of our need for Him and can prompt us to desire to be more like Him each day.
Take Jacob, for example. He walked away at daybreak, limping because of his hip. He was left with a physical reminder of his wrestling—he would forever be marked by that experience.
As I read Jacob’s story, I thought about myself. I can relate to him; I know the pain of intense struggle. I’ve walked through mental illness and seasons of great darkness. And I know now that God used that time for His glory. God took that pain and that hurt, and He opened my eyes to who He is. Because of what I went through, I was marked by God. He saved me physically and spiritually, and He opened my eyes to what life looks like when you have a hope beyond this world. No, it isn’t perfect. But praise Jesus, as believers, we have the assurance of spending eternity in His Kingdom!
If you are wrestling, keep wrestling. Dig into the Word. Cry out to God. Let him search your heart!
Pray that He would help your unbelief. Keep running to the Lord. Ask Him to put on your heart the things that matter to Him. Pray for healing and restoration. He has got this, and He is working all things in your life to put His glory on display.
If you want to talk more about Jesus Christ and faith and what-the-heck-is-all-this-stuff, shoot me a message. I love meeting new people, whether virtually or in person, and gabbing about life.
And if you'd like to know more of my story, you can read my testimony here.
Truly, He makes beautiful things.