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12 Things I have lived long enough to know
The repetitive nature of the daily news is an indication of how old a person is getting and hopefully an impetus to garner some wisdom from it all. Recently I realized I’ve been ingesting a regurgitation of the same sound bites for over 50 years. How could it be that I’ve spent my entire life monitoring global hotspots in Africa and the Middle East, sword rattling over oil supplies and nuclear weapons, uncertain market forecasts, political campaign mudslinging, dastardly mind-boggling crimes and the latest woes of local sports teams?
I couldn’t help but think of the writer of Ecclesiastes, who looking back over his long life threw his hands up in frustration and said “Meaningless, meaningless . . . Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (1:2) Then he asks the question of the ages: “What does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” (1:3) This question essentially frames the answers he paints on the canvas of the rest of the book
I’ve taken some of those brush strokes of wisdom from Ecclesiastes to embellish a sampling of what I’ve learned from my many years of making meaning of the repetitious nature of life.
I am calling them twelve things I have lived long enough to know. I’ve lived long enough to know . . .
1. Increasing the number of channels will never solve the problem of why there isn’t anything worth watching on TV. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. (1:8)*
2. Living through a Southeast Asian war, a cold war and several Gulf wars has convinced me there will always be oppressors and attempts to dethrone them. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. (1:9 NLT) Jesus: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. (Matthew 24:6)
3. Doing what you love to do is the most rewarding employment there is. So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here. (3:22 NLT)
4. Carving out times of solitude to be alone with God is absolutely essential for mental health and survival. One handful of peace and quiet is better than two handfuls of hard work and of trying to catch the wind. (4:6 Gods Word Translation)
5. What you promise in a time of peace is sure to be demanded of you in a time of war. So be careful what you promise. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the [temple] messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” (5:5-6) No one is discharged in time of war. (8:8)
6. It is a better use of time to focus on the present and shape the future than reminisce about the past. The olden days were not necessarily the golden days. Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions. (7:10)
7. Everyone has their faults and has said or done things they regret, and so have I. It makes no sense therefore to become a judge. There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. (7:20-22)
8. Ignoring a problem by not addressing it or not nipping it in the bud will only allow it to spread and become worse. Deal with it now. When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. (8:11)
9. It is not worth putting too much emotional energy and hope in Minnesota sports teams or any athletic quest for that matter. “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong . . . but time and chance happen to them all.” (9:11)
10. Bad deeds are more memorable than good and sadly a lifetime of achievement can be destroyed by one foolish act. So guard your heart and walk circumspectly. As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor. (10:1 NLT)
11. Idleness is the devil’s workshop and it is how you begin and end your day that will most likely determine your destiny. Sow your seed in the morning and at evening let not your hands be idle. (11:6)
12. Our ultimate purpose in life is to have a vital relationship with God and seek to live in His presence daily. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (12:13)
*All quotes are from Ecclesiastes, the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
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The Blessings of Trouble
“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.” Hosea 2:14-15 (NIV)
When you stop and think about it, this is one of God’s most unusual promises. It is not a promise most people have high-lighted in their Bibles and are claiming as their own. It was written by the prophet Hosea to the wayward northern kingdom of Israel during the period of time when it fell to the Assyrians. (722-721 BC) It reveals however a very important strategy that God uses to effect positive change in our lives.
The Valley of Achor to which Hosea is referring is not a place anyone would want to be. First off it was a hot, dry, dusty desert location. And secondly the Valley of Achor literally means the valley of “trouble.” It was the infamous place where the Israelites, led by Joshua, stoned Achan and his family for stealing the devoted things from the battle of Jericho. In Israeli history the Valley of Achor was a place of shame.
And yet in the wisdom and purposes of God there is really no better setting for God to extend His redemptive grace and change the heart of stubborn Israel. In God’s economy a desert location becomes the perfect spot for whispers of love and a valley of trouble turns into the timely circumstance to offer hope.
Troubling times can have a positive redemptive effect on us if we respond appropriately. Troubles have a way of getting our attention and accelerating change like few other things in our lives. And more importantly, they should draw us closer to God as we seek His consolation and guidance.
From a divine perspective a valley of trouble, as it was for Israel, just might be one of the best things that could happen to us. It forces us like nothing else to reprioritize are lives with regard to things, people and God.
So from God’s perspective here are five blessings of trouble.
1. We listen better. Troubling circumstances not only get our attention, but they also help us pay attention. Crises of any kind create teachable moments that force us to learn valuable lessons. For instance, there is nothing like a health crisis to give someone a crash course in diet and exercise.
2. We change quicker. When trouble strikes we are often much more open to changing the way we do things, especially if it is necessary for our survival. Stubborn habit patterns, ways of thinking and doing things all go out the window pretty quickly when escaping difficult circumstances require it.
3. We love deeper. Difficult times bring into focus how much we appreciate the important people in our lives. The value of close friendships and family soars and we find ourselves reordering our priorities to make loving relationships preeminent.
4. We help faster. Whenever a natural disaster strikes neighbors rally immediately to support and help one another. There is nothing like trouble to bring people together. Suffering increases empathy and sensitizes everyone to wanting to meet the needs of others.
5. We pray harder. Nothing drives people to prayer and repentance and God like trouble. In the grand scheme of things that is the most important and redemptive thing that the valley of trouble should do; motivate us to take God seriously. If only we could carry that same intensity with us when we get out of the valley.
The best news of all about being in a valley of trouble – God is there. He is there to speak tenderly and to offer hope. And He is there to provide consolation and guidance.
All five of these blessings of trouble are meant to be extended into non-troubled times. The lessons learned and changes enacted in our lives should at a minimum be proportionate to the depth of the troubles we have had to face. Let us pray that may be the case. God’s promise to Israel in the next line of Hosea’s prophecy is also a promise to us. It says this “There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.” (15b)
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The Test of The Golden Rule
Do to others as you would have them do to you. Jesus (Luke 6:31)
Yesterday my daughter dropped her wallet in a Target parking lot at midday while trying to load her purchases and two little girls into her car. By the time she had returned home, realized it was missing, retraced her steps, talked to Target security, had them verify from their cameras she placed it in her coat pocket at check out, and finally called her credit card company, whoever found the wallet already had two charges on her card, including pumping $75 worth of gasoline into the behemoth they had to be driving.
People who have no sensitivity to the Golden Rule, i.e. can’t put themselves in the shoes of someone who loses a wallet and have the common courtesy to seek to find its rightful owner, really baffle me. Now I’ll admit my initial reaction to hearing about this person without a conscience really made me mad. Ironically it triggered something in me that caused me to violate a golden teaching of Jesus myself by cursing that person rather than blessing them. (Matthew 5:44) It is true that the anger of man seldom produces the righteousness of God and it always amazes me how quickly one can become a Pharisee. (James 1:20)
I am genuinely puzzled however as to what kind of person would have such a disregard for the Golden Rule. Most commonly defined as “doing to others as you would have them do to you” and epitomized by Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” the so called Golden Rule is not just unique to Judeo-Christian teaching. It is a bedrock ethic of human relationship that is found in every other world religion including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Zoroastrianism.
Who is this person and where could they possibly be from? Sadly they must not have had a mamma who instilled some moral values in them and taught them right from wrong? And if they did, it’s even sadder to think they are breaking their mamma’s heart right now. I don’t think they could have grown up in a small town. For the most part honesty and neighborly values permeate rural communities. Lyrics from the country song “Where I Come From” tout those enviable benefits of growing up in a little town. “See that door right there, man, I swear that it ain’t never been locked and I guarantee that it never will.”
So, that means our thief, somehow devoid of a religious conscience or moral rectitude, likely grew up in a dog-eat-dog neighborhood of a large city. It’s possible. Maybe they have been ripped off so many times themselves that they feel the world owes them a living. Perhaps, to complicate matters, they have fallen on hard times. Is all of that reason enough however to victimize a complete stranger? It is puzzling.
Another scenario could be that they are living under the curse of some self inflicted addiction. Maybe their midday stupor or desperation for another fix convinced them the wallet was a fortuitous gift enabling them move on to their next appointment with the Devil. Who knows?
One would think that at a minimum, at least the Silver Rule would apply – “One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated.” I’ve heard even irreligious people talk with some reverence about good karma and bad karma or make reference to the old saying “what goes around comes around.” But I guess, bottom line, when someone is without a conscious or driven by desperation, all reason goes out the window.
Maybe our thief is a teenager, captivated by the foolishness of youth, when rational thought is at a premium, and on a lark they just decided to set out on a spending spree. Could be, now that seems possible although what teenager would be caught driving something that is so big it takes $75 to fill the gas tank?
Ultimately I’ve realized that my ruminations of who this person is or where they come from are exercises in futility unless I adhere to the Golden Rule myself. One of the biggest tests in applying the Golden Rule is when it must be directed toward those who break it.
The test of the Golden Rule is in how a person chooses to apply it. The rule was given as a measure of one’s own life rather than to measure the life of another. Whenever we point the finger at Golden Rule breakers there are three fingers pointing back at us. And that means we must seek to treat them the way we would like to be treated if we were them.
Truth be told, no one, including myself is guiltless of unkind and mean spirited actions at one time or another. In those situations I would want prayer for a revelation of God’s love that would lead me to repentance. I would want mercy extended to me in my brokenness. And I would want God to change my heart and offer me His hope for a better life. I would want to discover God’s blessings and be delivered from every curse.
Watch out, Golden Rule breakers in your life just might be a test to stretch you in applying the Golden Rule to yourself!
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Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er; Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to trust Him more! Louisa M. R. Stead
Last week I went through the process of having my first full body radioactive scan since having my cancerous thyroid removed a year and a half ago. As with any test procedure looking for signs of the dreaded “c” it can be stressful. Any accompanying fear and anxiety are acerbated by the infernal, seemingly interminable wait for the results.
It’s been said that war is hell and doubtless waiting for test results is at the very least akin to purgatory. Such waiting could be likened to walking a gauntlet of faith with the fires of doubt and fear, fueled by rampant negative scenarios, licking at your heels.
This time around, in the midst of my wrestlings of soul the Lord brought to mind the title of the old hymn “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.” As only God can do those simple words ministered faith to me and restored my peace and sanity. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er; Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
Life’s journeys have a way of bringing all of us to an occasional bitter pool. Invariably we stumble upon bitter experiences when we least expect it and they can have a way of rocking us and our faith to the very core. Disease, major disappointments and losses have that effect upon us. At a time when we thirst for sweet water to refresh our weary souls, it seems like all we have to draw from is bitter.
Ironically that is exactly what happened to the Israelites immediately after their miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians when they passed through the Red Sea on dry ground. Three days of wandering in the desert brought them to the bitter waters of Marah. Famished by thirst they all grumbled “What are we to drink?” (Exodus 15:23)
But God allowed this to teach them and us a foundational truth about dealing with the bitter experiences of life. “Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:25) That “piece of wood” is an Old Testament foreshadowing of the Messiah who was to come and the wooden cross upon which He would be destined to die. That cross, representing Christ’s great covenant sacrifice for sin and our salvation, would have the power to heal and make every bitter thing sweet.
Sometimes when we are standing at a bitter pool and crying out to God as Moses did, it seems like the transforming power of the cross is nowhere to be found. In fact no matter how diligently we ask, seek and knock, the bread we so desperately want is still a rock and the fish we are believing for still feels like a slimy snake. But Jesus assures us that the heavenly Father will give us what we long for if we persist. And indeed, when we hold a stone long enough, it will eventually turn into bread, and that scary squirmy snake will turn out to really be a fish. (Matthew 7:7-11)
From personal experience I’ve found that to be true. Yesterday after five days of holding a snake, by faith it became a fish and I finally got my test results back with a clean bill of health. All praise and glory to God!
One of the great mysteries of God is the way in which He uses the bitter experiences of life to bring sweetness to our soul. And it is likewise awe inspiring to observe how God can take something born of tragedy and nurture it into becoming a life sustaining blessing.
This year marks the 130 year anniversary of the writing of the great hymn “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.” Just imagine the impact these hope-filled lyrics have had as a lifeline in troubled times to countless individuals and gatherings spanning three centuries.
The story behind this hymn has been well documented. Louisa M. R. Stead found great comfort in penning these words in 1882 as she was coping with her grief over the tragic death of her husband. She had the misfortune of watching helplessly from shore with her young daughter as her husband perished with a drowning child he was seeking to save. What could be more bitter, than losing a loved one in the prime of life, in a seemingly senseless tragedy, in what could have and should have had a happy ending?
And yet, God, in His infinite wisdom turned Louisa’s bitterness of soul into a sweet trust in Jesus that led to the writing of her hymn. And amazingly the hymn has far outlived Louisa, ministering to each succeeding generation that same sweet trust to all those who sing it from the depths of their own bitterness of soul.
Four years ago when I sat at my father’s bedside as he passed peacefully from this life to the next I was overwhelmed by the savor of resurrection power and sweetness of Spirit in the room. I had just recited the Twenty-Third Psalm concluding with the immortal words “and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” As I marveled that the sting and bitterness of death were strangely absent, I suddenly sensed the palpable presence of Jesus. That experience left an imprint of eternity upon my soul and I will never again sing Louisa’s words without feeling their transcendent power to make every bitter thing sweet.
“Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus . . . I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend; And I know that Thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end.”
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The prayer recorded is the prayer rewarded.
That is a phrase the Lord spoke to me many years ago and I have used it to inscribe the inside front cover of each new prayer journal which I begin. It has been a motivational reminder to me of the power of sealing my prayers in pen and ink so that I can pray them again and again until they are answered.
It is not a novel idea with me. The Bible itself is a prayer journal, with many prayers penned by the likes of Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon, Nehemiah and the prophets Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Jesus’ unparalleled prayers for his followers are recorded as well along with the many apostolic prayers throughout the New Testament, not the least of which are Paul’s. Each of these prayers have been prayed over and over again for centuries because they carry the inspiration and anointing of the Holy Spirit while embodying the eternal nature and purposes of God.
Since the first century, believers in each generation have also recorded their inspired prayers. Many iconic prayers from famous saints and prayer books compiled by various sects exist today as a result. Along with the biblical models of prayer these anointed prayers serve us like familiar old friends to guide us in prayer when we lack for words or feel like we are groping in the darkness for direction as to how to pray.
Praying these prayers with a humble heart can revive the soul and lend fervency and focus to our prayer life. Because they were obviously penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they also release faith because we know that they express the will of God. That is what the Apostle John is referring to when he writes “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)
Understanding this basic prayer principle and applying it in our everyday communication with God will vitalize our prayer lives. And not only that, praying scriptures and other God-breathed prayers introduces an eternal quality to our praying that transcends time and space. Such prayer carries a cumulative effect as it is coupled with similar prayers prayed by yourself and others all the way from the past to the present.
And here is an even more provocative thought. Why not record your own inspired, Holy Spirit anointed prayers? In so doing you can pray them again and again, while each time rekindling the same passion and faith you had when you first were energized to pray them. Since in most cases they may have been given at a point of focused need, these prayers are like a precious revelation given by God to aid you in contending for their fulfillment.
This form of prayer can be generated in several ways. One familiar form is termed crafted prayer. Crafted prayer is a deliberate engagement with the Lord though worship, Bible reading and meditation upon appropriate scriptures with the goal in mind of writing out a prayer that expresses the cry of your heart for what you desire. What has been written can then be prayed repeatedly and even shared with others asking them to agree in prayer with you.
Another form of recorded prayer, one I have found to be even more personally powerful is what I would call revelatory prayer. These are prayers that are given spontaneously by the Holy Spirit in the heat of battle, so to speak. They are words or phrases that a person in the midst of a time of fervent prayer can find themselves speaking out, declaring and often repeating. They may be quotations of scripture promises and/or simply godly thoughts. Regardless, they seem to carry an authority in the Spirit with an insistent determination and belief that they are God breathed. They are words that carry an anointing with creative power to literally produce or arrange their desired end.
Capturing such prayers for the purpose of repeating them as we contend for their answers is doubtless an imperative. When God speaks into our lives by revelation, it is incumbent upon us to record it. For me keeping a prayer journal has been a great aid in doing just that. And I would have to say that the prayer recorded has been rewarded as I have prayed it again and again.
Lately, the Lord has helped me take this form of revelatory praying to a new level. My most effective praying is seldom accomplished while sitting with pen and journal in hand. I much prefer walking, kneeling or lying prostate on the floor. It is in those moments of animated prayer that the release of revelation is most likely to happen. And when the Holy Spirit begins to give me anointed words or phrases I am not always able to pause and write them down.
I have discovered that by using a little hand held digital recorder I can now record my prayers as I am speaking them. Then later when I am done praying, at my convenience, I can transcribe them into my journal. That way I am able to revisit those anointed prayers with their God-breathed wording again and again, each time recapturing the fervency and faith which accompanied them the first time I prayed them.
Let me challenge you, if you are not taking advantage of this amazing form of prayer, it’s time for you to consider doing so. Our relationship with God through prayer is of paramount importance. Why should you neglect to use every tool available in your prayer arsenal? Not the least of which is “the prayer recorded is the prayer rewarded.”
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