A Goldilocks Life

Winter vs. Spring

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Right now, the wind is raging and temperatures are holding steady at around 40 degrees. Even the ducks are hiding out. Only last week, we enjoyed two days in the 60s. It’s the annual battle between winter and spring. The garden at the east end of the building where we live has green shoots growing taller each day. Spring is coming, no doubt, but it’s taking patience and a varied wardrobe until things really warm up.

Waiting isn’t our favorite thing. Like when we go out to eat, and the service is slow and the food is cold and hardly worth the wait. Prayers feel like that sometimes. God invites us to pray about everything and even to do so without ceasing. Is it hyperbole or practicality? God always wants to hear from us. I’m a work in progress in that department.

There were some surprising answers to prayer this week. I’m delighted that Ray’s birthday party went off without a hitch. People stepped in to help, some without being asked. Extra double blessing in answer to last minute prayers for help. My friend is healing slowly but surely after surgery, and another friend experienced a bad fall yet no broken bones. Others are still waiting for the courts to decide in their favor or mourning the loss of a beloved mom. Thankfully that mom was a follower of Jesus and surely better off in heaven with the Lord than suffering.

All our battles, whether health, provision, loss, or the weather are in the hands of our Lord who sees us, hears our prayers, and answers in His time.

Death Could Not Hold Her

This afternoon, we said farewell for now to our sweet friend, Kim. It was only a week ago that she and I had a conversation at church. Two days later, she was gone from this world. Death had taken her suddenly, and the shock among our church is palpable. Kim’s daughter and family came down the aisle at church that Sunday, to everyone’s surprise. The praise team kept the worship going as Pastor and others met them with tears and hugs. The beauty of that moment lingers in my mind. I was reminded of younger me showing up at church the day after news of my brother’s death. The church then was reeling by Jim’s passing and my showing up. As a new follower of Jesus, I didn’t know it would not be normal to attend church so soon after such a loss, but I couldn’t stay away. I needed to be near my family.

That’s why the church exists. It’s home for now while we’re all on this earth that’s not home for us at all. Followers of Jesus are one and support each other, gathering to worship the Lord and serve and pray for one another. In Ephesians we learn that God has brought saved individuals together as one body, the church. God the Father places Christ over his Body, the church v 1:22-23. Verse 10 of chapter 3 says, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms…” Not only do we love and serve one another, but the power of our testimony together shows off God’s great wisdom to a watching world and the spiritual powers of darkness, too.

Hearing Pastor tell of Jesus’ saving power in Kim’s life could give any person the desire to know Jesus as Savior. She is alive now in heaven with Jesus by faith. Eternal life awaits all who trust in Christ (John 3:16, 36). We will all face our going home day, as Kim did. Will you enter heaven forever with Jesus, or will you face the judgment that awaits the hesitant sinner?

Promises

I don’t remember when I started a list of Bible passages and verses to do a deep dive into, but I’m slowly working my way through it. Some studies have taken months, and one more than a year. All have been satisfying and challenging.

Lately I’ve been reading Psalm 119 looking for God’s promises one acrostic poem at a time. That is, Psalm 119 is arranged in poems, each with eight lines, and each poem features succeeding letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Since the psalm’s main theme is the word of God, many of the promises I’ve gleaned so far have been the various benefits of reading and applying His decrees/commands/ instructions/precepts. Some of the standouts so far are that hiding God’s word in my heart helps me not sin against him, and delighting in God’s decrees keeps me pure.

God promises to revive us by His word. The Lord guides us in understanding the meaning of His words and applying what He is teaching us. Meditating on the Bible will help me when others speak against me. When we weep, God promises to encourage us. I needed those promises when someone sent harsh remarks about me to a friend asking her to share them with me.

The most impactful promise I’ve read so far in Psalm 119 came from two verses, one that caused me to speculate and the other with the clear answer. Verse 49 says, “Remember Your promise to me—it is my only hope.” I wondered what that promise might be, and verse 38 answers clearly, “Lord, give me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me.” What is a more hopeful promise than God’s unfailing love for us revealed in salvation? We know that Jesus Christ holds the key, as He gave His life so we could be saved from our sin. Eternal life is our greatest hope, knowing that life here on earth isn’t all there is. God loved us so much He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

May you discover many promises as you read and meditate on God’s word.