Trust in the Midst of Trouble

For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, 

O LORD, from my youth. 

(From Psalm 71 )

Reading novels by the Icelandic author, Jon Kalman Stefansson, has given me a new perspective on the meaning of a hard life at the "ends of the earth".

The Heaven and Hell trilogy begins as six fishermen get into an eight by twenty-foot sixareen rowing from their remote fishing village through the protecting waters of a fjord towards the open sea.

Their wives, standing at the shore, pray the Lord will return them safely.

Once into the raging, frigid,open waters of the Norwegian Sea, the men row for hours three miles out to into the deep before tossing their nets into the high seas.

The men are risking their lives as they cope with the overwhelming cold, wind, risk drowning unable to swim to feed their families.

By God's Grace, they'll be rewarded with an abundance of Cod, and return safely home able to feed their families.

A severe snow storm develops, blinding the shoreline from the fishermen.

Each boat must begin rowing against the sea and towards what they believe is shelter of the fjord and village.

They are in the midst of trouble.

I haven’t been in an eight by twenty-foot rowboat in the open sea and don’t plan on it.

I have, as you may have being human, found myself in the midst of life’s troubles.

As one who has placed my hope and trust in the Lord "from my youth", I am convinced the Lord knows our life's troubles.

The scriptures repeatedly say God’s that the one who cries out to God, as Jesus cried out in trouble, is heard and understood.

God’s assurance of hope is that the one who cries out to God, as Jesus cried out to God in trouble, is heard and understood.

Before the Water Gate

Then Nehemiah said to them,

“Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions

of them to those for whom nothing is prepared,

for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved,

for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

(From  Nehemiah 8:1-10)

The Boston Celtics are going through a dry spell of missed shots, turnovers, missed 3 pointers, and 2 pointers,

When Derrick White was asked about the dry spell, he stated it would bring the team together.

White believed the annual seasonal ups-and-downs compel the team to figure out how to get through them.

In a way, that’s a metaphor for life

It’s like going through a dry spell of faith, reading the law of the Lord and not feeling a revived soul.

The book of Nehemiah relates the Judean story with King Artaxerxes support for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah and Ezra confront opposition and challenges in their rebuilding efforts of safeguarding Jerusalem’s boundaries.

Attempting to unify opposing ideas, Nehemiah gathers the people before the Water Gate court to hear the Torah read.

Reviving worthy memories of the past generates excitement for those hearing the Torah again those hearing for the first time.

For Six hours, people listen attentively to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

People weep hearing their sins spoken, knowing their guilt, and fearing God’s justice.

Nehemiah declared, “This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

God is rejoicing over the people attempting to draw near.

As surely as the Torah reveals our sins, it also reveals the source of our hope: the God who keeps promises.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Through our dry spells of faith, of unanswered prayer, of a withering soul, it is the joy of the Lord, that is perfect, reviving the soul.

Fear Not, You Are Redeemed

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are mine."

(From Isaiah 43:1-7)

Catastrophe hardly begins to describe the apocalypse of the California fires.

I have a friend living near Pacific Palisades who has described the fear, the anxiety, of having to pack a few treasured belongings, evacuate her home, and prepare for a sleepless night.

As TV coverage continues of the spreading fires, the smoke, increasing wind, and power outages, devastation became beyond belief.

Interviews of local residents revealed a sense of hopelessness, grief, and shock as the disaster burned out of control.

Amidst the wind, flames, and destruction, where is God’s power to redeem?

The prophet Isaiah speaks Lord’s word of redemption declaring,

 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you,

 I have called you by name; you are mine.”

Isaiah reminds the reader of God’s presence in their Exodus experience stating:

“Because you are precious in my sight

          And honored and I love you.”

You have been created by God, redeemed by God, named by God, and claimed by God, Isaiah proclaims.

For Christians, at our baptism, we are marked by water and Spirit identifying us as Christ’s own.

We are God’s beloved child; created, redeemed, and claimed by God.

God’s comforting words from Isaiah and Christ’s Resurrection have the power to transform the hopelessness, grief, and shock into hope, joy, and comfort.

No matter if you’re living a flaming nightmare in California or an ordeal of your soul, you are loved, chosen, and redeemed by God.

A Tale of Two Kings

In the time of King Herod,

after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,

magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking,

“Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?"

(from Matthew 2:1-12)

The magi’s story is a familiar one.

As we remember it, three wise men from the East see a star, follow it, arrive at a gathering with Mary and the baby, present gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense, and return home.

The Bible, however, tells a deeper story than the arrival of an unknown number of the magi and company heading toward Jerusalem.

The action begins when King Herod hears about a child, the king of the Jews, born in Jerusalem.

Merciless King Herod feels threatened and reacts with cunning and violence.

Herod gathers his priests, Jewish scribes, and Pharisees, who, by consulting texts, tell him the child is born in Bethlehem.

Herod asks the magi to find this king of the Jews so he can pay homage.

The magi, seeing a star, recalculate their travel destination and head towards Bethlehem.

The star settles over the house of Mary and the holy child.

The magi discover the star has led them to the kingdom of heaven, where they can offer their treasures of Gold, myrrh, and frankincense.

The magi are overjoyed when they realize they are in the presence of a king and a savior.

So, we have two kings: one ruling a kingdom of this world; the other, a savior, the king of heaven.

The magi's example for us is to follow the signs to the holy, lay your treasure, obey the God of holy dreams, and go home another way.

But the story continues as Herod and his family continue a murderous reign never realizing they are not the real kings.

The King of Heaven, guiding the holy family, surpasses earthly kingdoms by welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, and following God's holy dreams.

Searching for Hope

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked.

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

(from Luke 2:41-52)

Searching.

In 1964 Bob Dylan wrote “The times they are a-changing".

Dylan wrote this in a time of social upheaval with civil unrest, threat of nuclear war, and Kennedy’s assassination.

Dylan vocalized a search for meaning in what he saw in this ever-changing world around him and the need to move forward through action.  

Searching.

Ecclesiastes’ message is that however difficult things may be because of the hardship’s humanity experiences in this broken world, there is purpose and grace for all.

Searching for an everlasting hope and satisfying life as we walk with God is part of the Christian journey.

In Luke’s Gospel, the “God of the Lost” searches without giving up until everyone lost is found.

Finding.

It seems to me the mission of the Church and a Chistian is to be about finding people traveling through one of life’s hardships by gracefully giving them a time of hope.

Finding those lost in grief, pain, or other sufferings and bringing them to Jesus in the Lords House, will give them an eternal hope.