Tag: Abraham

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Have Courage? How?

Dear sisters,

Two young Marines in Okinawa, Japan were driving in a car this weekend when a blown tire changed their lives forever. The car lost control and the Marines were both severely injured and rushed to the Naval hospital, where my surgeon friend quickly operated on their broken bodies. She was up tirelessly with them for most of the weekend attending to their many serious injuries. One of the Marines sustained a brain injury that put him in a coma with his life precariously hanging in the balance. My friend lovingly faced this young man’s parents and told them of his dire state. She was expecting wailing, tears, and anger, yet what she received was a smile spread across his mom’s face and told my friend that it was going to be OK because God was in control. Then the mom quickly went to praying over her comatose son instead of weeping and asking why.

Oh my sisters, what a courageous response to a seemingly hopeless situation! How could this mother look the death of her son in the eye, then raise those eyes to her heavenly Father in faith of His sovereign control of this heart-wrenching event? There was no fear. She believed and acted on the truth her heart knew despite what consequences might lay ahead. What a picture of courage.

The bible is full of examples of courageous men and women who believed, lived, acted, and stood for the truth despite the personal consequences they might face: Abraham leaving his homeland, Moses’s exodus out of Egypt, Daniel not following the diet of his foreign captors, the prostitute hiding Joshua and the spies, Ruth staying with Naomi, Esther facing the tyrant King Ahasuerus, all the prophets, John the Baptist telling Herod he was sinning, and so many more! Yet the ultimate example of having courage in hopeless times is our Savior Jesus, who sweated blood in agony over the events to come that night, yet still he obeyed His Father, which cost Him His life and ultimately gave us ours. He rose again, defeating death and giving us the foundation of our faith. Our sins are forgiven when we trust in Christ. This life’s crushing fear is courageously washed away by the hope of the gospel!

But how does that work in my own life? I can look to this sweet mom as an example of courage for today. She showed courage during her seemingly hopeless time by not choosing fear, which is the opposite of courage. She chose to believe, live, act, and stand for the truth despite the personal consequences she might face: the death of her son.

Oh sister, learn the truth of the Word! Ground yourself in the knowledge of what you have in Christ. Learn the characteristics of God that never change. Let this knowledge lead you to courageously act when what you fear the most comes. Stand up for what you believe when others mock. Walk away when others are toeing the line of sin. Having courage in seemingly hopeless times is hard work, yet the Spirit will be there to give you what you don’t have on your own.

Oh Lord! Help us to be strong and courageous and not tremble and be dismayed as we live a life of your Truth.

Your sister in Christ,

Colleen

 

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Kicking and Submitting

Dearest Sister,

Did you ever think about the beauty of arranged marriages? Well, in theory, beautiful. Ponder this: Assurance of marriage, no dating frustrations, little chance of endless break-ups and loneliness and heartaches typical of the “going together” scene. Yes, he might not be your dream man, but a good mother and father know what is in your best interest, right?

Maybe you are in a time of despair about such things–or despair about whatever it is in your life in this span of time. Dating, not dating, miserable dating. Marriage, no marriage, divorce. Children, no children, rebellious children. Loss of health. Separation. Impending death of a loved one. Death. Missing. Loneliness. Most of us have experienced some of these, some have known them all. Some of us are clinging desperately to our God, others are unsure, finding it hard to trust, even bitter.

No chastening or trials are pleasant. If we could only reckon the truth of God’s Word to actually be true. These things are for our good. They yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in our lives if we submit to the training.

I’m a slow learner in the things of Christ…my tendency is to impatience.
I want things to happen now, in my timing, according to my educated plans. Marriage at twenty one, house with wrap-around porch, sea breezes blowing gently on my face as I watch my four children, two boys, two girls, playing in the sand a few hundred feet from that porch. A happily-ever-after marriage, some nice vacations involving travel to exotic destinations, and a body free of disease would be nice too. However, my plans rarely materialize and the visual above is merely a lovely dream of my youth. But, dear sister, in hindsight, the training in righteousness has been so much better.

Indulge me while I tell you of my first big lesson in true submission to our Christ. It is the story of idolatry, the crashing of the idol, and the place of eventual blessing. Perhaps you will be encouraged as you see yourself, in a different situation, but the same God of patience and love and gentleness.

We met, Jim and I, dated, “fell in love” (albeit a mostly selfish love), and grew stagnant, with no real commitment. Months grew into years, seven years, to be exact and then God saved our souls and transformed our lives. It was a marvelous thing to behold as we thirstily learned of Him and His ways for our lives, as we learned to walk in childlike obedience. Two more years passed. I was desperate for marriage, he was not. I blamed him, he blamed no one. Then came the ultimatums, the pressures, the guilt trips. The breakup inevitably came. The wrenching heartache of loss was felt by both, but God was working His relentless work in our hearts. I was brought to my knees in repentance over many things, including the idolatry of wanting this man more than I wanted submission to the very real possibility that God did not want me to be married to this man, perhaps not to be married at all. In His grace and hard mercy at the time, I gave all my desires, all my desperation, all my dreams to Christ, trusting (as my pastor says) in His Face (Who He is), not His hands (what He can give me). The sadness and loss did not leave, but there was a release I had not known. I was no longer bound to a dream idol, an idol of earthly fulfillment, an idol of personal happiness. I was a woman of metaphorical unclean lips who had now known the hot coals upon my mouth in cleansing, and my heart was ready for a “Here am I, send me for whatever He purposed” moment. (Isaiah 6).

I’m reminded of dear old Abraham. His longing for the son of promise, the fruition of the promise, the seeming wrenching away of that boy. A.W. Tozer says it so poignantly: “God let the suffering old man go through with it up to the point where He knew there would be no retreat, and then forbade him to lay a hand on the boy. To the wondering patriarch He now says in effect, ‘It’s all right, Abraham. I never intended that you should actually slay the lad. I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there…’

I’ve had other lessons in submission along the way, but like first love, this first lesson is most memorable. It made the next lessons a bit easier because of God’s faithfulness in the first. Never easy, always good, because God is always good.

No, God does not always give us what we think we want, but when we submit, He gives us Himself. He is our very great reward, not to be traded for any earthly passion. And sometimes, not always…but sometimes, He says, ‘I wanted to give him to you all along, but first I wanted your heart.’

And there you have it. That is how I eventually became Mrs. Jim Finamore.

Sister, give Him all of you. Surrender wholeheartedly. Be content with or without the desire. Be satisfied with Christ.

Submitting together to Him,
Cherry

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Sitting in the Dirt

Dear Sisters,

I looked up the word “friend,” as used in Proverbs 17:17 (“A friend loves at all times”), in a Hebrew dictionary. The word means ‘an associate (more or less close)’ and comes from the root, ‘to tend a flock’ or to ‘pasture it’ –by extension, ‘to associate with (as a friend).’ Working on tasks and eating together are the glue of many of my friendships. Likewise, many times we suffer through adversity together in these moments, which create and cement longstanding bonds.

My thoughts turned toward the story of Job and his friends. Job’s friends traveled to meet with him after hearing of the misfortunes that had swept over him. “When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.” Job 2:12-13.
Amazing love these men showed their friend! I love my friends and want to meet them in their pain, to help if I can; but I have never sat in the dirt with anyone for over an hour, much less days and nights—without speaking. (Note: they were men, however.) Unfortunately, after their great show of love, they turn from sorrowing with their friend to accusing him in their own self-righteousness.

I am afraid I too often make the same prideful mistake when a friend meets trouble. I want to help, so I seek out all the ways they have failed—to help them fix their problems and move on, of course. Yet, “a friend loves at ALL times”—the verse does not continue with said friend fixing imperfections—just loving. Sitting in the dirt. My friendships should be powdered with more of the dust of trials, and less of my desired white wash.

In James 2:23, the author recalls Abraham and God’s friendship, “’And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God.” What an incredible testimony. Abraham believed—he accepted God’s promise that he would have infinite descendants even in the midst of his childless sorrow! He and God sat in the dirt together, trusted, and were friends.

Dear God, please cultivate these friendship qualities in my life—yes, dirt and all.

Running(and sometimes sitting)with you,
Rebecca