When it Rains

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit…and I will walk among you and be your God, and ye shall be my people. (Leviticus 26: 3-4,12)

My mother grew up in a small Mexican pueblo out in the middle of nowhere at a time when there was nothing much to be found there but poverty and dust. There was a long drought at that time, and when she was growing up there the crops often failed; there was hardly any money or work to go around. It was a difficult time.

But much later when I got to visit, the drought had long gone, and the rains would come on time, bringing joy to all. I liked it when it rained there. It got very cold, then you would suddenly breathe in that loamy, dark, scent of damp earth. Soon, there would be thunder and lighting creating such a marvelous show with the rain and the sun that you would not know whether to run for cover inside one of the window-less houses or stay out under the rain.

We stayed out because nothing could beat seeing that display.  My sister and I, being city girls, would marvel at double rainbows or even triple rainbows as we huddled like two little sparrows under the eave of some abandoned house. The rain would go on its way to water the crops up the mountain, leaving behind a green and vibrant landscape, lush with tender vegetation which sparkled by the slanting light of the afternoon sun.

* * *

Today it rained. It made me very happy. It reminded me of how rain is a great blessing that we take for granted. If we need to drink or to make tea or coffee we simply open the tap. If we need to water our vegetable gardens, or keep our lawns looking their best we simply get the hose out or turn on the sprinklers. There’s plenty of water, plenty of food, plenty of everything good. Thank you, God.

Now, if we were living in a third-world country, the blessing of rain in its due time, abundant–or even dependable–harvests, would seem to us a rich blessing indeed. More so than it would be to someone living–say–in Southern California. Still, the promises of God to those who follow him and obey him are far from being irrelevant to us. Because it is by his grace that everyone who has in abundance can enjoy it, for he allows the rain to fall on both good and bad. We receive myriad blessings from his hand, sometimes we don’t even recognize it.

But the greatest blessing is that of belonging. The promise of Him belonging to us and us belonging to Him is absolutely wonderful and peace-filling. Because His presence itself is the rich rain that allows you to grow in him, be prosperous, and produce much fruit. With him there is no despondency that comes from spiritual or material poverty. There is no hunger, or thirst, or need apart from him.

For Those of Us Who Wait

I am waiting for my laundry to be done.

To distract myself and take a break from these myriad household tasks I check my email for the twentieth time today. You see, while I’m waiting for my laundry to be done, I’m also waiting for word about a possible job opportunity.

But . . . there is not a single new message in my inbox. Nothing—not even those emails from WordPress that I like so much.

The timer goes off—it startles me, and then I remember that the laundry is now done. Well at least there’s one less thing to wait around for. I go with my laundry basket downstairs, and as I fold clothes and pair up socks I glumly think about my life and complain and whine in my head to my ever-constant companion.

Father, this waiting is maddening. One email, one phone call, one reply is all I need. Is it so hard?

* * *

The Discipline of Delay.

In his book Enjoying Intimacy with God J. Oswald Sanders takes the reader along a very difficult subject. Discipline. One of the opening verses he uses is Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves…. Sufferings and setbacks are means of God’s perfecting. “If we are to enjoy a deepening intimacy with God, we must react to His providential dealings in a spiritual way, even though they may be inscrutable.”[1]

Waiting. What is my strength that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient? Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze? (Job 6:11-12)

It’s so hard to wait! Why? For me it is because in the stillness of it I am forced to look at my life. I see the mistakes I did, the “should have done” and the “what if” moments. I find myself wondering—did I do right in my choices? Back then when I thought God was guiding me—was he really? And then I look at the future—what is going to become of me? I hate to admit it but sometimes while I wait I tend to lose hope as if I did not have a loving Father in heaven. This, of course, dishonors him.

But most of the time while I wait I am led to think about the past, realizing that all I accomplished was because of someone else. I was in junior college, and I had no money to continue my education and transfer to University. Who made it happen? God—two years were paid for through various means. I was in my senior year in university; tuition had increased by 50% since I’d transferred. I needed money to complete my final year! Who made it possible for me to finish it? God did by various means. God works in many ways—through miracles, scholarships, strangers off the street that give you well-timed advice and encouragement. My pride is shattered, my self dies a little, and my self-confidence gives way to humility.

God was good and faithful at a time in my life when I was just lukewarm. Through it all, though I was still so far from Him, He was faithful. And now that I have made a pact with him to be faithful and to do his will wherever he will lead me to the very end—why do I find myself doubting him? Why when he has left me precious reminders of his love for me?

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:7 ESV)

[So] Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. (Psalm 37: 34,37)

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. (Psalm 37:5-7, 9)

[For] they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)

* * *

This week, if you find yourself waiting like me, take heart.

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay (Habakkuk 2:3)

God “will not spare present grief if it means future, permanent profit. He is concerned with our ultimate blessing more than our present comfort. But that does not mean that He is unmoved by our sorrows and trials.”[2]

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord…. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. (Lamentations 3:22-33)

For we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)

Have a blessed week.

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PS: I’ve been trying to complete this entry for about a week. It seriously has been difficult. Still, these promises are as true now as they will be when I get the job that God has prepared for me. So I am posting it now, celebrating with the Red Sea in front of me, cliffs at my side, and the Pharaoh’s army is at my back, because I know–I am absolutely sure–God’s deliverance will come in due time.

Meanwhile, if you can remember to, please pray for me.

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[1] Sanders, J. Oswald Enjoying Intimacy with God (Discovery House Publishers: Grand   Rapids) p.106

[2] Sanders, J. Oswald Enjoying Intimacy with God (Discovery House Publishers: Grand   Rapids) p.113

The Promise: While you are Tried

The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee (Isaiah 54:10)

Through all our trials, we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you…I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I have also wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look to me and live.

 

–E. G. White, Desire of Ages “The Divine Shepherd”

 

The Power

There is something incredibly romantic about Elijah the Tishbite.

He was the fearless, brazen, wild man of God who, jealous for the honor of His cause, “did not hesitate to obey the divine summons by proclaiming the judgment of God in the form of a national drought, though to obey seemed to invite swift destruction at the hand of a wicked king”[1]. A solitary man, he stirred the fears of the royal house and the hearts of a nation in his appeals to return to God. An audacious man, who dared to taunt the gods in a public showdown on Mount Carmel. A man of prayer who called fire down from heaven and afterwards, and afterwards had no room for pity in his ruthless slaughter of hundreds of false prophets in a move to initiate reform.

This same Elijah, for all that he seems to us as such a legendary character today, was a “man subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17). So then what was his secret? What did he have that we need in order to work for God on earth in a manner that will be as effective and as stirring?

He was a man of prayer, and his life he had dedicated to the purpose of bringing about reform. But all his deeds were driven by a deep and abiding faith in God. And this is what is needed in the world today. “Faith that will lay hold on the promises of God’s word and refuse to let go until Heaven hears. Faith such as this connects us closely with Heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. Through faith God’s children have ‘subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the strangers.’ (Hebrews 11:33,34) and through faith we are today to reach the heights of God’s purpose for us. Faith is an essential element of prevailing prayer. ‘He that cometh to god must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.’ (Heb 11:6)”[2]

As we begin our week, let’s remember that God, the source of power that was available to Elijah, is still ours for the claiming.

Have a blessed week.

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[1] E. G. White, Prophets and Kings, Elijah the Tishbite

[2] E. G. White, Prophets and Kings, From Jezreel to Horeb

I Should Have Loved You More

Do you know of regrets? I do.

I know of them because I have some in my life. I regret having lost a precious friend. I regret not being true to my convictions in the past. I regret not having had the courage to speak my mind when it counted most. I regret the opportunities I didn’t take, the things and people I didn’t fight for, and not having said and shown my love for others who are now gone.

About a year ago, I wrote a song for my grandmother to try to mitigate the feelings of intense loss that I felt when she died. This sorrow was not entirely because of her death—I know she rests in Jesus Christ and I will see her one glorious morning. The pain was because of an intense regret I felt: I didn’t love her enough, cherish her enough, or show my appreciation to her enough—not nearly enough.

So for your sake, love the people around you more. Do you see that they need help? Do you see that someone needs a word of encouragement, a prayer, or the gift of your time? Do something about it. Do it now.

***

At the end of this earthly journey called Life, do you know who I would regret not having loved enough? Regret to such an extent that I would want to die right on the spot and be covered by the stones of the crumbling mountains?

Christ.

Oh, I’ve given him the best of me, I want to say. I’ve given him the best years of my life,  my time, the energy of my youth, my monetary resources. Meager as they may have been to others, I willingly gave them to him for his service and for the advancement of his Kingdom.

But being this busy, running around trying to fit church activities around a busy schedule—have I had the time to love my Savior enough? Would I be able to meet his eyes and meet the brightness of his countenance with joy?

I know the answer too well…I have not loved him enough, sought him enough, or spent time alone and in prayer with him enough—not nearly enough.

One day the eastern sky will be filled with light; our triumphant Savior will return in indescribable glory. On that day, may we not have reason to say to him…

I should have loved you more.