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Remembering Back

Last week, I spoke at my church on the theme “We’ve Come This Far by Faith”. We were celebrating the 59th anniversary of our church’s inception. Everything we did during that service was in recognition of our 59 years of labor. As I was reflecting on what I wanted to say to the congregation, I thought about how careful I wanted to be in looking back on the yesterdays of our church. Although I haven’t been at the church for 59 years, I agree that it is because of my faith and the faith of those that came before me that we continue to press on despite the difficulties we have endured. Currently, there are less than 40 people who attend our church each Sunday. At one time we had at least 100 people in attendance in Sunday School. Our children’s ministry, which is pretty much non-existent now, at one time was a thriving auxiliary of the church. Many of our problems can be attributed to the fact that all those children I taught in children’s church 20 years ago, are all grown up with children of their own, and have either moved to a more modern non-denominational church or just flat out left the church. It’s so easy to get discouraged, so I wanted to make sure that as we were looking at our past, we didn’t begin to long for it.   Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”  Paul reminds us to not look back at past relationships, memories, failures, temptations, or anything that might distract from a single-minded focus on “the upward call of God in Christ.” I’m not saying that looking back is a bad thing but if you’re like me, the past is always a little greater in my mind than it really was.  If you let us tell it, lollipops grew on trees and the clouds rained down Skittles candies.

As I’m growing in my thinking, I realize that looking back at something can be dangerous if not done the right way.  I think of it like this: as a driver what would happen if you spent your driving time always looking in the rearview mirror?  You’d soon run into someone, wouldn’t you? When we drive we occasionally glance behind us, but we keep looking forward. God has His perfect plan for us in our futures no matter how short or long that future may be.  So we must be careful when we look back.  I have to sum it up like this.  I’m a big western fan and when I’m home my TV stays on MEtv. There’s a commercial for the Rifleman that comes on periodically and the dad, Lucas McCain tells his son, Mark, not to look back to which Mark replies “I wasn’t looking back, just remembering back”. So let’s always be women of God who press toward the mark God has for us with glances to the past but always looking to the future.

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Seeing the Big Picture

Pastor Tony Evans has a famous quote that says, “If all you see is what you see, you will never see all that there is to be seen”. 

At any given moment, it’s hard to see how God is working in our lives. This is especially true when we’re going through a trial or God is taking us through unknown territory. Seeing the big picture is hard.

We know, through our study of the Word of God, that He always has sight of the big picture. Heck, He created the big picture. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

All of those verses, plus many more, let us know that God sees the Big Picture in each one of our lives. We say that we know He sees the big, we understand He does, and when we say it we mean it, but when we are in the midst of a transition or trial, it’s hard to recognize it and fathom it.

Can you think of a time when you were going through a storm and while you were in it you thought you weren’t going to make it or you couldn’t see the good that would come from it, but now years later looking back you see how that storm made you a better person or created things in your life that would not have been, had it not been for that storm? I can truly speak from experience on this point. Four years ago, my mother died. To know how devastating this was for me, you must know how extremely close we were. She was my BFF. We even lived together. We spent so much time together when we lived apart that I suggested to her that it was foolish of us to pay two mortgages when we could live together with just one. So when I say I was devastated, I was devastated. But today, four years later, I look back on her death with sorrow of course, but also with the knowledge that through her death I experienced tremendous spiritual growth. Where I am today, is a far cry from where I was back then. It wasn’t that I wasn’t a Christian and even a bible teacher, but I see how God has used my mother’s death to grow me in ways that I never would have imagined.

The first step in knowing that God sees the big picture is to acknowledge that all of our stories are part of a bigger picture yet to be seen.  In our world today, people don’t want to see the big picture.  They say there is no big picture, but just little snapshots in time that don’t really add up to much. There is no belief in a higher being, heaven, or hell.  Many people believe that once you leave this place, that’s it.  There is no need to have a big picture because the big picture leads to nothing. What a sobering thought. No wonder so many people are depressed and dismayed. If I believed that this is all there is to my existence, I guess I’d be depressed too. Thanks be to God, that I know better.

Did you know that the bible is one big story? As a child, I learned all about the stories in the Old Testament, but I never knew that from the fall of man to Revelation, the Bible was written to display God’s purpose of bringing everything to a climax in Jesus Christ.  Lately, I’ve been studying the book of Zechariah. Did you know that although it was written 500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, it foretells the coming of the Messiah and in great detail about His second coming? It is packed with symbolism and some hard-to-understand passages, but the predictions about the return of Christ are crystal clear.

The little pictures of our lives, just like those of Abraham, David, and Sarah, fit perfectly into the vast landscape God is painting. To see it we need a vision readjustment. Or, as Paul would say, we need the eyes of your understanding enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints(Ephesians1:18).

To see with the eyes of our hearts then takes more than a new set of spiritual bifocals; it takes an inner transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit.

When looking at the Big Picture, we need to hold On To These Three Things: faith, hope, and love.

Faith — taking God at his Word. Even when our circumstances scream otherwise, we need to take it on faith that there is a bigger picture. Isaiah 55:8 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord”. We must have faith that the way God is working in our lives, is for our good.

Secondly, we need to hold on to Hope —We must believe that God knows what He is doing. Jeremiah 29:11 says  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. This hope keeps us from despair and allows us to live in anticipation of that day when Christ will return in glory.

Lastly, we need to hold on to Love — We need to know that God loves us more than anyone has ever loved us and even more than we could ever love ourselves. How do I know that He loves us? Because He sent His son to die as a sacrifice for our sins. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.

Knowing that God sees the big picture and that through the good as well as the bad times, he is transforming us, fills me with peace. How about you? Through this transformation, our eyes are opened to Satan’s schemes that tell us there is nothing after this life therefore this life is not worth living. The devil is a liar! I’m going to live believing that God sees the big picture of this life and the life beyond and that He has destined things for me that I can’t even imagine. He did it for you too. He sees where you are and what you’re going through. Hold on my sister. God won’t let you fall.

I liken this journey of life to dreams of falling. Have you ever had that dream where you were falling and you woke up before you hit the ground? I figure that’s how life with the Lord is. You may stumble and you may have a cessation of falling, but He will never let you hit the ground.

So, let’s dare to imagine. Let’s dare to take our eyes off our circumstances and focus them on the bigger picture God has for us in Christ Jesus. 

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What He Has Planned

I officially began following shelter in place orders at the end of the school day on March 17th. The last day that I saw my students in the classroom was that day. While at the carpet, eleven little six-year-old faces (the parents of the others had decided to keep them home) stared at me, afraid that the whole world was going to get sick and die. Although they played with their friends at recess, enjoyed my corny first-grade jokes, and sang along with the first-grade phonics songs that I bombard them with each morning, I could tell they were worried. Things being the way they are in the public school setting, I couldn’t tell them how I really felt, so I tried to comfort them by telling them that the Coronavirus was not something they had to worry about, but that school was closing so that whatever was going on wouldn’t hurt their grandmas and grandpas. I could tell it helped a little, but not much. I could tell they were still afraid. This was all new to them. Shucks, it was new to me. I really didn’t know what to believe. One news station said one thing, another said something else. Actually, I still don’t know what to believe.

What I wanted to tell my little six years old, but really couldn’t, is spelled out in Isaiah 46:10-11. This scripture reads: I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east, I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do (NIV).

It fills my heart with such joy to read that scripture and know I don’t have to worry about tomorrow because the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, has complete control. It means that God turned to the last chapter in our story and is ordering our steps to direct us to an expected end. Doesn’t this give you a great sense of relief? This is what makes Jeremiah 29:11 so poignant. It reads: for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (KJV). God knows just where you and I are, and He has our end all planned out. As a single woman I wonder will that end include a husband. I wonder will that end include a new way of teaching that will see my working at home more than in the classroom. Whatever it includes, I know that God has it all set up, and it is in my best interest to let Him order my steps the way He chooses to. That means things may not always work out the way I want them to. It may mean I will shed some tears and even ask him ‘why me’. It may very well mean that everything I ever wanted in life, I will receive. Who knows? God knows. And it is for certain that what God has planned He will do, and there is nothing I can do but stand still and see the salvation and sovereignty of the Lord.

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Come, Ye Disconsolate

Sometimes it’s hard being a single woman. Many times it’s hard being a single mother. It’s even harder being a single mother/woman in uncertain times such as what we are living in today. This pandemic and the sickness and death surrounding it is devastating for so many. But even more prevalent than that, is this sense of despair and desolation that is chipping away at the hearts and minds of some of our sisters. Some are even beginning to ask, where is God? I want to assure you my sister, that God is near, as He has always been. Isaiah 55:6 says Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. With all that is going on in the world, now more than ever is the best time to call upon God. I know there may be some who have heard encouragement from others, and to you this may seem redundant, but I want to lay in your spirit that encouraging words from our Father God is never repetitive or redundant, it is empowering.

There is a song called Come Ye Disconsolate. It was written by Thomas Moore in 1816 and made more accepting and palatable by Thomas Hastings in 1831. Now I know what you’re thinking, there are more contemporary songs that I could use to get my point across, but I’ll tell you, there is nothing like an old hymn. The first stanza reads: Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish. Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel. Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish. Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. When I began to research the words of this song, my heart was touched and I realized just how God’s message of mercy has reached out almost 300 years to ease our fears and doubts during times such as these. What is it that pastors say: He is the same yesterday, today, and forever? The God that shouldered the burdens of the people in the 19th century is the same God carrying our burdens right now.

The word disconsolate means to be without cheer, downtrodden, or desolate. The word languish means to grieve or spend time in sorrow. I would say that the lyrics of this song apply to many of us right now. For some who are single and all alone, away from family, not able to visit, you may be feeling disconsolate and in despair. Secretly you may be grieving for the loss of connection to others, the loss of a loved one, or loss of your finances. This season of life, with Covid 19 looming over us, can be a heavy burden to bear. But I like the lyrics that say when we are disconsolate all we have to do is come to the mercy seat and fervently kneel. In other words, all we need to do is come to our compassionate Father and fervently kneel in prayer. This is not the time for a cute prayer. It’s not about crossing every “t” and dotting every “i”. It’s ok if the words aren’t grammatically correct and snot falls from your nose. We can even bust out the ugly cry because this is all about connecting to God and calling upon His name. This is a passionate prayer knowing that He hears us and He wants to be there for us. There is a contemporary song by Earnest Pugh that says “God Wants to Heal You”, and it’s true. God wants to heal us, provide for us, and see us through. But He wants us to need Him and to call out to Him.

Thomas Moore, with the help of Thomas Hastings, goes on to tell us to bring our wounded hearts to God and tell Him of our anguish. We need to bring all of our troubles, our heartaches, our pains and disappointments, our sorrows and fears to Him, and tell Him of our distress. We need to cry out and tell Him where we hurt and what we’re afraid of. God wants to hear from us, not during commercials, not after one more thing, but first and foremost, closing out the world, concentrating on Him and Him alone, and with open hearts.

The last line of the song says Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. That’s a powerful message right there. My God! I want to run around this room right now, y’all. That right there says that there is no sorrow that this Earth lays at our feet, that God can’t heal, cannot take care of. It doesn’t mean that all of our problems will magically disappear, but it does mean that as we go through the fire, as the uncertainty of Covid 19 threatens our city, as people die all over the world, as food prices go up and we have to wear protective gear to go out to buy toilet paper, God will be with us. That right there is a blessing. That means that we can rest in the fact that God is in control of all of this, and even if the outcome is not the outcome that we want, He has the power to heal and comfort us through whatever comes along. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthian 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

Perhaps Covid 19 has turned your life upside down. Perhaps you may feel like living another day is just too much. I want to encourage you today to look toward heaven, fall to your knees in fervent prayer, open up your heart to God, and remember that Earth has NO sorrow, that heaven cannot heal.