Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:32 ESV
Have you ever wondered if your prayers are making it past the ceiling or if God can hear you over the clamor of billions of other folks praying at the same time? Mary’s prayer gives me hope. It wasn’t long, it wasn’t eloquent, in fact, it wasn’t even original.! These were the exact words her sister Martha had used just a few minutes before. But Jesus did something many of us fail to do in a moment of someone else’s time of crisis or grief: He listened. He didn’t interrupt, correct or give advice. Jesus simply gave Mary space to voice her struggle with the terrible question of why.
After taking time to listen, Jesus did something encapsulated in the shortest verse of the Bible: He wept. His tears more than His words, brought healing comfort to Mary and her friends. Lazarus lay in the grave, and though Jesus knew what was going to happen next, no one else did. In our lives it is the same. We see, as Paul says, “through a glass darkly” Our understanding of the future is often clouded by the sorrows or struggles we are drowning in. And yet, our Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life, kneels down next to us, and weeps. Now, Jesus doesn’t do this because He doesn’t know what to do. He knows exactly what we need and what His plans are, but He takes time for us to look up to Him and then He begins to show us the way out.
“Where have you laid him?” Jesus asks, and they lead Him to the tomb. Only then, just outside the tomb, where their brother lay wrapped in graveclothes on a cold stone slab, Jesus takes command. “Take away the stone.”
“But Lord,” Martha informs him. He has been dead four days and (here I love the King James) “He stinketh!” Did you know that Jesus already knows how bad things smell in our lives. The death of our hopes and dreams have lain in the grave so long that they smell to high Heaven. But Jesus isn’t concerned about how bad our problems smell, He is concerned now about our obedience and faith. In the words of the hymn, this is the moment to “Trust and Obey>” Yes, Jesus listens, and yes, He weeps with us, but there also comes a time when we must obey, if we are to see the glory of God. What are you facing this morning? Is there a grief, a broken relationship, sickness or disability that has brought life to a standstill. Jesus is here, right now, and He will take time to listen, He will even take time to weep, and then as you trust Him, He will show you the next step to take. What a patient, compassionate, and mighty Savior we serve. I do hope you will enjoy this short message that was given yesterday at Life Care Center. Have a blessed day everyone!
I can’t explain how the hummingbird flies Nor why in the summer an ancient tree dies Or when at the dawn as I get out of bed Why deer creep to thickets to lie down instead
My life’s like a puzzle still missing a part` With questions of mysteries that stir in my heart When the voices of worries are filling my ear Above all their clamoring I can still hear His quiet voice that is calling me come And the sound of His footsteps leading me home
He comes and stands and He knocks at my door And offers to enter to heal and restore And when I ask Him why He gives such grace He points to the Cross where His love took my place
In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? John 14:2 ESV
“I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:11 ESV
“You are not enough!” Colonel Phillips shouts to Steve Rogers, in the first Captain America film. Colonel Phillips wanted an army of superheroes, but all he ended up with was Steve. Of course, later in the film we find out that Steve actually is good enough, but the colonel needed a lot of convincing. Maybe the reason I love that movie is because I can identify with not being good enough.
When I was a little boy, I didn’t think deeply on it, but I sensed that I was somehow not good enough, because all the other kids had a dad. Then, when I was five, mom remarried and my new “dad” showed up with his crew-cut, a dark mustache and lots of strict rules. He had rules about sitting at the table – “no talking at the table and eat all the brussels sprouts.” There were rules about shining my shoes on Sunday, making my bed like his drill sergeant had taught him and most of all rules, about playing the clarinet. He loved the clarinet, played in a chamber group, and listened to Benny Goodman and Pete Fountain. They all sounded fine, but in spite of daily practice, when I picked up that instrument more squeaks and squawks came out than the proper dulcet tones. I was not good enough. Saturday music lessons didn’t help much, and my afternoons, when my friends were out playing baseball, I sat in the basement room struggling with my instrument. My lower lip was often split by the reed and if I thought at all of heaven it was the place where no one had to play the clarinet ever again! Bringing that, “Not good enough!” struggle into my job, my family, and my church life, made me work tirelessly to do better, yet left me with the nagging feeling that no matter how hard I tried, I could never be good enough for God. Of course, I knew that I was saved by grace, but I figured God just sort of put up with me from there. I still squeaked and squawked at playing the notes of life and God had lots of rules that I couldn’t keep up with. But over the course of fifty plus years following Jesus, I have begun to learn the love of my Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for me. He doesn’t first ask me to play perfectly, sit silently at HIs table, and shine my shoes on Sunday. He first gave His life and then called me to follow Him. Sheep do not always follow perfectly. We are not fast, strong, or smart. We don’t even smell good! Yet despite all our many faults and failures, He loves us and by His wonderful merciful grace we belong to Him!
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