Low, He is With You

Trust.

Many people struggle to trust God with their lives.  Even harder – the lives of their children. 

We tell ourselves peace will come when the control to life’s situations is placed firmly in our hands.  But the truth is… that’s a lie.

Truth is, we know our strengths… and we know our weaknesses.  And the struggle of trying to keep everything on track wears us down and burns us out.

But trust?

Release?  Surrender?  Rely?

The what if’s pile high and anxiety pushes its way into the forefront of your mind – stealing every moment we willingly lay on the altar of fear.

This weekend, Tim and I travelled to Georgia.  Flying has never been my favorite thing to do since it correlates so well with my fear of heights.  (It’s true that Jesus said, ‘Lo, I am with you always’... but I often wonder what if He meant ‘Low, I am with you always?’)  Needless to say, we had air miles to use up and I found myself, once again, sitting on an airplane. 

Just before takeoff, the pilot poked his head in to announce that there was a problem – something with the pressure system for the cabin. 

Oh fantastic.

I immediately began to wonder what that could mean – would we all look like shrink wrapped versions of ourselves if every ounce of air got sucked out of the cabin in mid-air?

Hmm..  or more like beef jerky? 

I looked at the other passengers, trying to imagine the scene.  It wasn’t pretty and suddenly I wished I had reminded my kids where our will was filed… or better yet - that we had just stayed home where life is safe (yeah right) and the ground meets my feet and cabin pressure never crosses my mind.

Too late.  Here we were, stuck on a plane with faulty mechanics.

“Not to worry though,” the pilot said, interrupting my thoughts, “maintenance is on it’s way.”

Sure enough.  Two burly men soon boarded the plane and poked around at stuff up near the cockpit.  In my opinion, they didn’t look like they knew what they were doing, but they appeared to know more than me so I didn’t offer my assistance.

Knowing trained professionals were on the case (even if they didn’t look the part) I sat back – a little more at ease.

That’s when God decided it was time to have a conversation.

“Soooo… it appears to Me that you trust them more than Me.”

“What?  What are You talking about?”  I was appalled at the thought.

“It’s true, Lynette.  You trust the maintenance guys – whom you know nothing about to make the right adjustments to this airplane more than you trust Me with your life.”

I sat there wondering if I should tell God that He was sitting in someone’s seat and that He needed to move – but He kept talking.

“More than that – you trust that pilot – whom you do not know – to get you from here to Atlanta.”  He paused, then went on.  “You are willingly placing your life in his hands and you know nothing… nothing about him.  You have simply chosen to trust him with your life.”

Ouch.  Point taken. 

But He wasn’t done.

“Lynette, I am your Abba Father – I know everything about you.  I love you more than anyone on this earth ever could – and you trusted the maintenance guy more than Me!” 

We live in a world where we grasp at anything or anyone in whom we can place our security.  We look to money, politicians, friends, family, spouses, status, titles, abilities and so much more to calm our frantic minds and tell us everything is going to be ok.

Ahh… but Jeremiah 17 tells us the folly of trusting in that which is imperfect.

Are you struggling to trust the Perfect One?  Eat up these words and welcome the blessing of trusting in God. 

God’s Message:

“Cursed is the strong one

who depends on mere humans,

Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone

and sets God aside as dead weight.

He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie,

out of touch with the good earth.

He lives rootless and aimless

in a land where nothing grows.

“But blessed is the man who trusts Me, God,

the woman who sticks with God.

They’re like trees replanted in Eden,

putting down roots near the rivers—

Never a worry through the hottest of summers,

never dropping a leaf,

Serene and calm through droughts,

bearing fresh fruit every season.

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,

a puzzle that no one can figure out.

But I, God, search the heart

and examine the mind.

I get to the heart of the human.

I get to the root of things.

I treat them as they really are,

not as they pretend to be.”

It Is Well

It's the stuff from which fears are realized, ‘whys’ are birthed and the deepest of soul pain claws at your throat.

A mother shouldn't have to...  She just shouldn't have to…

She shouldn't have to walk out hospital doors with empty arms and a breaking heart.

Shouldn't have to rouse from a dream where he is still alive and happy and giggling... only to enter the hollow reality that his bed lies untouched.

She shouldn’t have to.

She shouldn’t have to choose what he’ll wear to his funeral.

Shouldn’t have to stand by his coffin holding a handful of Kleenex, unfulfilled plans and not enough memories.

Some question God.  Wondering how an all-knowing, all-loving God could allow such grief to take place?

He could have stopped this!  He could have spared them the pain!  Why didn’t He?

We listed out the the good his parents had done – their love for others… the ministry they’d birthed… the church they’d planted.  We reminded God of the crazy faith they possessed – their outlandish obedience.  Obedience that would scare the mess out of most Christians.  We considered the complete devotion to God… and wonder why?

Why did God allow their son to die?

They didn’t deserve this!

Yet as I watched my friend mourn the loss of her two-year-old son last week, I witnessed a strength that defies all earthly explanations.  

For on a cold day in Michigan, as the winter winds swirled through the headstones and out over an open grave in a small town cemetery, a young mother cried in a church down the street.  Before her, a tiny white coffin held the body of her little boy. 

There at the very point where her greatest loss and deepest fears were realized, this grieving mother rose up and worshipped...and in her worship, God came near.  

There’s a surreal beauty that comes from a heart that’s surrendered. 

Through her pain, Malyn found comfort by choosing to worship the One who had given Camden to her in the first place…this child who needed a family and a home and a name.  She invited the congregation to sing one of Camden's favorite songs with her.

Far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can't see

And this mountain that's in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well

So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name

And it is well

With me.

(Bethel Music)

Malyn's act of release and surrender shook the place, leaving no one untouched.  

And in it we witnessed the power of love – no matter the cost.

You see, loving comes without guarantees.

Love makes us vulnerable to pain.

Brian and Malyn were not promised thousands of tomorrows with their son.  Oh, they hoped for them – likely hadn’t considered the alternative.  What we saw on the day of his adoption was the beginning of a lifetime of happy memories…and really – that’s exactly what they got… even if the lifetime was much shorter than anyone could have imagined.

So the question comes down to this - is love worth the risk?  Worth the possibility of pain?  Worth the price of loss?

Some would lash out at God – blaming Him for not stepping in.  Accusing Him for allowing such tragedy.  But the truth is this - death was never God’s plan.  He never wanted tiny coffins.  Never wanted empty cribs, crying mothers and hurting fathers.  That wasn’t His original design.

On the day sin entered the world, God the Father was the One left with empty arms, broken dreams and unfulfilled plans.  The separation brought Him such grief and He longed for what once was…wanted it so much so that He took a risk and laid all that He had on the line in hopes of winning us back.

The death of His own Son, Jesus, was the price God paid for the chance to love us and call us His own…and He did it knowing there was a possibility we’d turn Him down. 

It was a risk, but He did it anyway. 

Did you know He loves you that much?

Loved you enough to risk it all?  All in the hopes that you would accept the love He has to offer?

He did and He does…and He’ll never stop… because death might separate, but it can’t keep a Father from knowing your name, longing to hold you and loving you still.

The offer stands ready... I hope you will receive it.

Camden David Sneed
June 1, 2013 - January13, 2016

Click here to watch Camden's funeral.   The sermon was preached by Camden's grandpa, Don Smith.

(A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with the funeral, medical and adoption expenses for Camden.)

If this story has touched you, please share it with others.  Camden's life impacted us all and we want many to know the love he taught us in just two short years.

Who's Your Rahab?

I've been thinking about giants and Rahabs and wilderness living…

In our walk with God, we yearn for the day when we reach our destination.  Our promised land.  But, yet, I see in the modern church culture the same fear of giants the Israelites experienced.

Our giants look different. 

They resemble giant corporations that spew hatred towards Christianity while promoting acceptance, love and world peace. 

It looks like the church down the street that doesn’t hold the same values as ours…sending us into avoidance, competition, slander and self-destruction.  But, boy, do we all love our Jesus.

Today’s giants are the voices that promote fear, proclaim shame and announce doom.  These voices stir Believers to an action that sends us straight back to the wilderness.

Boycott!

Turn!

Run!

And then there’s Rahab.

Yes, we know the Isrealite's future was in God's hands… but from their side of history, they only knew they had to trust that Rahab hadn't ratted them out. 

Imagine placing your life… your future… your promise from God into the hands of a harlot.

Gasp!

Instead, we refuse to dirty our hands with the least of these.  We tsk, tsk over their shameful way of life and pray our sweet Jesus will come quickly and save us from this old sinful world.

I get it.  Trust me, I get it.

I get tired of giving up my time, my resources, my comfort.  I get nervous about stepping into the land of giants.  I don’t want to hang out with Rahab.  But do we really expect people to live and love like Christ… without having Him in their life?

There’s a promised land on the horizon, and avoiding conflict sends me back to the wilderness…leaving the giants to enjoy my promise… and leaves Rahab without a Redeemer.

What does claiming Jericho look like?

It means trusting God no matter where He leads you.  It means loving the unlovable.   It means praying blessing over those who despise you…something that, admittedly, doesn’t feel good in my mouth. 

But in the end, it changes…it changes me.

Avoidance has been the name of the game too long.  My whole life this has been the Christian mantra – if a business reportedly supported something bad, BOYCOTT! 

We’ll show them!

But stop and think about it.  What are we showing them?  We’re showing them the opposite of who Jesus is.

He came to serve and to love.

He gave unselfishly – even to those who would betray Him.

Imagine shaking off the self-righteous, condescending, pious approach, and instead going inside the walls of your Jericho and finding someone to love… someone who has nothing but a messy, broken life to give in return.

Does refusing to extend love and grace really win them over in the end anyway?  Or is it more about keeping our garments unspotted from the filth of this world.

Truth is, you can live in the wilderness.  You can build a shelter, eat manna and dream of the good things you enjoyed back in Egypt.  Ahh.. the good ole days… when you were… living in bondage… yeah.. those days.

But then there’s Jericho.

The place where God has called you to.  You see, we beg God to show us His will for our lives… but at the first sign of discomfort, we cave.

Yes, there are rivers to cross, giants to face, and you may have to befriend the town harlot.  But if that’s what God uses to get us to our promised land, why would we question Him?

The world has seen what it looks like for the body of Christ to remain on the banks of the Jordan…and they’re laughing.   We’ve showed them what powerless Christianity looks like… maybe it’s time to show them a new kind of Christian. 

The kind that crosses over into the land of giants, loves the unloveable, extends peace, offers hope and lives fearless… because we know that God is ultimately in control.

What You Do Affects Others

King Hezekiah did his level best to serve God.  And serve Him well.  (Hezekiah's story can be found in 2 Kings 18)

Yet he had a problem.  This little thing called pride.

I’m intrigued by part of his story – about the battle he was fighting against Assyria when King Hezekiah failed to trust in God.  The threat of attack sent Hezekiah running to the temple – but his purpose wasn’t to be in the presence of God.  

No, there was money there.

Silver.  And gold.

He took all the silver from the temple treasuries and had it sent to King Sennacherib.  But King H didn’t stop there.  He even had the gold from the doors removed – as well as the door handles!

Crazy stuff.

Makes you wonder what went through the king’s mind each time he walked through those doors when coming to worship the King of kings.

But the story goes on.

King H is a successful man.  He built an amazing kingdom… he obeyed God and he was prosperous.  

But then, he got sick.  Super sick.  So sick that the prophet Isaiah paid him a visit with a message King H wasn’t ready for.

“Get your house in order.  You’re about to die.”

King H was understandably upset and cried out to God.   Then there was a healing, a heavenly sign and King H was back in business with a promise of fifteen more years of life.

He. was. the. man!

So here he is – healthy, wealthy and wise-in-his-own-eyes.  Even neighboring kingdoms heard about his successes, so when they came to wish him well, King H thought it sensible to offer these men of Babylon a guided tour of all his prized possessions.  The Bible says, “There wasn’t a thing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them”.

Pride.

It’s that stinky little problem that we so easily allow into our lives.

King H was confronted about what he had done when the prophet came back for a visit.  Isaiah, having heard from God, told the king that all that he own would one day be carried off by the Babylonians.

King Hezekiah’s response?  “At least it won’t happen in my lifetime.   I will enjoy peace and security as long as I live.”

Talk about self-absorbed!

It’s a sad day when those in leadership choose to ignore the future for their descendants!   It makes me as a parent stop and consider the choices I am making not only for today, but also for my children and my children’s children.

You see, if the story goes on – and if you’ll read it, you’ll see that King Hezekiah’s decision that one fateful day, would affect a boy years down the road.  A boy who would be carried off by the Babylonians to live in captivity as a servant. 

That boy’s name was Daniel.

Our actions today may not seem important, but they are.  The decisions you make as a parent (or any type of leadership position) may not seem to have long-term effects.  And to consider that they might is a heavy weight to carry. 

But the answer is simple.

Do justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with your God.

A life focused on God… a life lived in humility… a life devoted to bring honor to the King, is best investment we can make into the lives of the ones who will come after us.