Trust

Complaint Department – Upstairs

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But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed    Matthew 27:14 ESV

I have a small confession to make. Some days I love to complain. I complain about the weather. I complain about my church, my kids and even my wife. Some nights as I lay my head on the pillow and replay the whiny remarks which I made I wonder how I could have been so unkind and wish I had kept my lips sealed.

Jesus on the other hand had no shortage of things to complain about. But on the worst day of his short life, Jesus encouraged a thief; made sure His mother was taken care of and forgave His enemies. How could He do that? What was His secret?

Some years ago I was bringing a truckload of branches to our local landfill. At the entrance was a one story cement block booth with an attendant who checked each vehicles weight. As I pulled up to get our weigh-in slip, I saw there by the side of the operator’s window a small sign with an arrow pointed up stating, “Complaint department upstairs!”

How can we be patient like Jesus, when others mistreat or abuse us physically or verbally? The answer is in knowing where the complaint department is located. Telling our neighbors, our family or our enemies the way we feel won’t help. Our only response is to quietly trust that our cry is heard by the only one who can deliver us. Then in the same way that Jesus did we can give ourselves into the hands of the one who loved us and gave His life for ours.

daylight forest glossy lake

The Puzzle of Prayer

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Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?  But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:19-20

While I was out on my Saturday morning walk, I stopped at a neighborhood yard-sale. Usually I try to avoid picking up other people’s junk (or treasure) but I was intrigued by a 1,000 piece puzzle that reminded me a bit of a Thomas Kincaid painting. After returning home with it, I carefully taped together a cardboard piece big enough so I could move the puzzle around and then excitedly dumped out the pieces. First I assembled

20190401_062321_Film4.jpgthe edges and then grouped the rest of the pieces by color. But as I worked I discovered that I had a serious problem. The puzzle pieces were not from the puzzle displayed on the box! 

 Joseph’s life must have seemed a lot like my puzzle. His dreams of greatness and success must have seemed far off during his years of slavery and jail. Have you ever felt that way? My own hopes and dreams; like the photo on the box-top are decidedly different from the jumble of the pieces of my life. Some days or even years it feels as if nothing fits together no matter how hard I try.

But rather than give up I determined to find out just what kind of picture I would see if I kept at it. So as I worked piece by piece I began to see a cottage very different from the one on the box and yet still breathtaking in its complexity and beauty.

That is how the Christian life is. Our puzzle box dilemma is not an accident. On the outside things are never as they appear. God has chosen for us to walk by faith just like Joseph. When we trust God no matter what we see; it frees us from the tyranny of  expectations; both our own and those of others. Faith frees us to forgive and then live in confidence that whatever the final picture looks like; it has been designed by God. As we trust Him to fit together the pieces we will little by little begin to see and a perfect reflection of His love for us all!

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When will we get home?

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He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:7-8

“When are we getting home?” the kids used to pester their mother and I from the back seat of our car many years ago. Whether it was one hour or one day, no matter how many times we explained,  they never seemed to be able to just relax. In much the same way the disciples of Jesus who had just finished a three and a half year apprenticeship and a forty day journey of stress, sorrow and then joy wanted to know when they would  get to the end of their journey. They could have picked up a lesson from the prophet Jeremiah who looking at all the disasters around him in Jerusalem probably wondered the same thing himself. How gracious of our God to come to us, and not to just yell into the back seat, “Just sit down and be quiet!”. God knows the depths of our anxious thoughts and He comes to give us the blessed and healing assurance. that He knows not only the end of the journey but also all the stops along the way! Some days I really need to remind myself of the words of this song – “Now I’m riding in the back seat, and I find that that’s the very place to be. Now I’m riding in the back seat. And I’m leaving all the driving to the chief!”