Sometimes Distant, Sometimes Close, Always A Mystery

Hey, Y'all,

Well, another week's sailed by...unbelievable...feels like the last time I looked up it was like February :-) So anyway, I was thinking it's been a while since we heard from Yancey on prayer, so here we go...

These things feed my faith:
epiphanies of beauty in nature;
sunbursts of grace and forgiveness;
the portrait of God I get in Jesus;
stirring encounters with people who really live their faith.

These feed my doubts:
God's baffling tolerance of history's atrocities;
sustained periods of God's seeming absence;
my unanswered prayers.

My meetings with God may include ecstasy and joy, or withdrawal and silence...but always they include mystery. To come to terms with this unpredictability I remind myself that every friendship has a misty side, that all relationships sometimes reveal and sometimes conceal.

When I wonder why God doesn't simply "show up" I recall that when God did, as in Old Testament days, this appearance hardly enhanced communication: usually the person fell to the ground, flattened by blinding light.

In any event, I console myself, all relationships go through hot and cold spells. Sometimes communication is verbal, sometimes silent, sometimes close, sometimes distant. Usually, of course, these lectures to myself fail to convince. I am left with the unsettling truth that God, not I, has ultimate control over our relationship.

You've been prayed for today...

Replies To "He Has Shown You What Is Good"

Hey, Y'all,

Today's thoughts are brought to you by you--they're replies to the "He Has Shown You What Is Good" RST from a few days ago. BTW, this is the last duplicate Yahoo/Gmail posting, so don't forget to add randomspiritualthoughts@gmail.com to your addressbook/contact list (otherwise your spam filter may eat it).

The first thought is actually from my friend N (you know who you are :-) "For some it truly is hard to live that way, for others it seems to come more naturally. What is it that makes the difference? I mean I've seen it both ways, in Christian and non-Christian people alike…perhaps that's just part of being human, as with everything else, we fall short and God's grace covers us. The other aspect is of being on the receiving end of living like that or not: how do we as imperfect human beings ourselves perceive it? Have we been overly critical on occasion?"

The second thought consists of excerpts from a sort of conversation (including my brothers at Grace Church and my now-in-Michigan-brother Mike R):

"You know, it occurs to me that this text would make a powerful slogan if we truly lived up to it. I mean, what higher calling could there possibly be for a man (and wouldn't it pretty much encompass everything if we tried) to act in a just and fair and upright manner, to strive to demonstrate kindness and mercy in thought and deed, and to truly walk humbly with our God. Man...words to live by if ever there were any...and that's my prayer for you today, that you too will strive to live those words, and that you will help me and every other brother also reach for that Godly standard..."

"If we could really see and really understand what kind of a force in the world a Christlike man really is (with all that that implies--walking closely in the footsteps of our Brother/Father/Healer/Prince/Servant Jesus), I have to believe we'd be incredibly attracted to the idea of being like that ourselves (and it would be noticeable--and attractive--to others as well). [I want to continue] to grow in that direction, to make a difference for our King in this world."

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

You've been prayed for today…

Turn To Him Last?

Hey, Y'all,

Today's thought comes our way from Olya (thanks, OlgaMona!) and is highly ironic (and painfully true):

"How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource! We go to him because we have nowhere else to go. And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven."
--George MacDonald

Hmmm...Ring a bell (or is it just me again? :-)

You've been prayed for today...

"He Has Showed You What Is Good"

Hey, Y'all,

Hope you had a great weekend--it's always cool, especially as I get older (and somewhat wiser? :-) to stop and think for a bit about dads and the sacrifices they've made (and make) without giving it a second thought--so thanks, dads (y gracias, Facho).

Also find it funny--—like this weekend at church--—to see dads who've been taking care of us for years, decades actually, being honored side-by-side with some dads who've been dads for all of like 5 minutes ('sup, Hose). Cool...I half-expected to hear Elton John belting out "The Circle Of Life" (little tangent: "Mufasa!" "OoOoOoh! Say it again!").

Anyway, got to thinking about Godly fatherhood, about being a real man and a real dad, not some inferior, weak imitation. About the privilege and responsibility that it is, to not only care for someone entirely dependent on you, but to also be responsible for being a child's first understanding of who God is and what He's really about.

And the verse that kept rolling around my head is actually one that I remember learning when I was way young--as evidenced by the fact that I remember it most clearly in the King James Version--it's Micah 6:8...

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

So although there are a million verses and quotes on the topic, this is the one that kept ringing more and more true as I thought about it: to act justly, to demonstrate kindness and mercy, and to humbly walk with my Lord...is there a higher calling for a man?

You've been prayed for today...

Fail To Persevere?

Hey, Y'all,

Ran across this quote the other day and it resonated with me--'cause I'm sure I'm the only one who on occasion gets distracted by circumstances and can be discouraged and pout and (ironically) stay away from the only True Solution to whatever it is that ails me.

"There is no danger that the Lord will neglect the prayers of His people. The danger is that in temptation and trial they will become discouraged and fail to persevere in prayer."
Christ's Object Lessons p. 175

Key word, that--"persevere"--doesn't exactly imply a walk in the park but rather quite the opposite, no? Hmmm...I wonder, do I ever give up too quickly and mope? Do I fail to persevere in prayer while the winds and waves pick up and in moping fail to see a Lord ready and able to say, "Peace! Be still!"?

You've been prayed for today...

I Know My Redeemer Lives

Hey, Y'all,

Heard a song the other day and decided to hunt down the text that engendered it, and I was downright surprised to find it in Job:

I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.
Job 19:25

What does it take to have that kind of faith...
how does that happen?

To really know the things I believe, to be utterly certain of them; that is my prayer, for me and for you--today, and every day.