Jeremiah

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What Lies Ahead?

One of my all-time favorite contemporary Christian artists is Arron Shust, and since mid-November, I’ve listened to his song My Savior, My God, almost daily. It’s become my anthem, and it begins like this: “I am not skilled to understand, what God has willed, what God has planned.” What a perfect sentiment for the year! Other than Proverbs 16:9, which I’ll get to in a moment, if there’s a more appropriate quote for 2020 than this, just leave it in the comments, because I can think of none.

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

Proverbs 16:9

If ever there was a year to bring Proverbs 16:9 into sharp focus, it’s been 2020. I can unequivocally say that this year has certainly been unexpected. The new year began as it had on many previous occasions with a renewed hope for future possibilities, new plans and goals, and a pot of beans.

On January 1st of this year, life was straight forward, predictable. Our plans were pretty much business-as-usual as we set new goals and dreamed new dreams. But God had established different steps for us, steps that forced us to take paths we had not know existed. We were awakened to realities that we had never considered before. Realities like loss of income, loss of property, loss of certain freedoms, loss of loved ones. I can’t think of one thing that has gone as planned, and honestly, it’s not been easy. Yet throughout the year, the words of Proverbs 16:9 have been my constant companion. That recurring voice, the one which patiently repeats that I see only through a mirror, darkly, that I am the pot, not the potter, reminds me of just who is in control: God.

This was my New Year’s posting on social media last year. It was an awesome New Year’s posting. Usually when we post something like this, it’s because we’re excited to see what God has in store for us. We think of Jeremiah 29:11, and all the good that He will do for us. Looking back, I have to laugh, because God was indeed doing a new thing, just not the thing I thought it would be. That “new thing” came with an acronym: COVID-19, which may as well have been called the black plague for the havoc it brought! The year was a true “teachable” moment, or a string of moments, right?. We learned that, sometimes, things have to be different from what we’ve come to expect, that what we consider to be inconvenient and troublesome is actually a blessing when viewed from God’s perspective. Many of the things we thought we could rely on were, indeed, not at all reliable. This storm has raged and the waters have been rough for nine full months, and one thing I know is that when you’re in the middle of the storm, it’s hard to look up, hard to stop an ponder where it’s all leading, where God is directing our footsteps.

While it has been a study in, trusting, in patience, and in love – remembering, or at least trying to remember, to love those whom we find it difficult to love – I’m still counting on God to do a new thing in 2021. Even if that new thing is not what I have envisioned, I can thank God that He threw 2020 at me. Because of this year, because of all the twists and turns the path has taken, I know that no matter what trials or stumbling blocks I may face, He will continue to direct my steps: My hope is in the Him.

And as I begin to navigate the new year, I will exchange one Arron Shust song with another: My Hope Is In You. These words,

“I won’t be shaken by drought or storm, a peace that passes understanding is my song, and I sing my hope is in You, Lord”

My Hope Is In You written by April Geesbreght, performed by Aaron Shust

are the perfect anthem for what it means to fully trust as God charts His new course for the coming year.

~SLM

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Have Mercy

“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! 

Jeremiah 32:17

There are times in our lives when things don’t go as we thought they would. The unexpected always has a way of popping up, unannounced, interrupting our preconceived notions, testing us, putting us through trials for which we are totally unprepared. Life is messy, and when things get so out of control that they are basically a dumpster fire, prayer suddenly becomes our BFF. We instinctively know it can help turn things around.

But prayer without repentance is merely a hollow recitation of words. Repentance is what gives prayer power, because its prerequisite is humility. A humble attitude is the polar opposite of pride and arrogance. It’s the one thing that makes us stop and realize the situation is beyond our purview, beyond our ability to control. It forces us to recognize just how imperfect we are, that we aren’t as smart or wonderful as we’d like to think.

Humility is, in fact, the key that unlocks the door of repentance. Without it, we cannot turn or perspective in another direction, away from who we are and toward whom we are meant to become, which is what repentance does for us. Even king David realized the importance of humility and repentance as a primmer to prayer when he wrote:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.”

Psalm 51:1-4

Sometimes the most powerful prayer we can pray is simply: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It’s saying, I’m not in control, and I’m at a loss for what to do, only You can do this, Lord. That’s why the tax collector’s prayer was so powerful; he knew that there was nothing he could do to help himself – not a lot of pretty words, or creative justifications, or a laundry listing of the many things that he thought he had done right or better than anyone else. He knew that he didn’t know, that when he measured himself against the precepts of the Almighty, he was found lacking – only God’s mercy could save him from the abyss, nothing less.

So, today I say, Lord have mercy. Have mercy on me, for I am a sinner. Have mercy on this stiff-necked nation, for it has lost its way. The great city on a hill that You raised up has lost its light, those who You set up as salt for the world have lost our saltiness. We are not worthy to even raise our eyes heavenward, for we have failed You in so many ways. But with You, there is forgiveness, there is mercy, so I also say:

“Create in us a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within us. Do not cast us from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and grant us a willing spirit, to sustain us.” Amen.

Psalm 51:10-12

~SLM