road re-traveled

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

 

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.          Luke 5:4-7

 

I think it was Albert Einstein who once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. And who could argue with that thinking? It seems so right—often is so right. But what do we do when it’s God calling for the same road, calling us down the same path? And he’s saying, or maybe promising, or simply implying with his passionate imploring that this time…this time things will be different. This time the road re-traveled will end differently. This time the path well-trodden will lead us to a different destination.

 

Do I have the faith for this? Will I be so wildly foolish as to believe the same path can lead to a different place?

 

 

The world’s wisdom and God’s—they have different things to say about steps retraced, roads re-run. Who to believe? In the moment of now we all shout out with confidence that we will believe God. He knows best after all.

 

But what about when we’re tired? When we’ve been up all night working to no avail. When we just did what he says to do now and we know—we really just know—that it won’t end any differently. Will we have the faith then? Will we be willingly seen as foolish or crazy? Will we go and do what we just went and did and know, or at least hope, that because God is calling us that the road re-traveled will take us to something new?

 

Or maybe I’m missing the point completely. Jesus never tells Peter things will end differently. They do, we know now. But Jesus doesn’t promise that they will catch a huge load. He tells him to put down the nets to catch fish, but he doesn’t actually explain that they will catch any. Sometimes the road re-traveled will simply take us to the same end.

 

But are we the same for having traveled it twice? Are we unchanged for having walked in obedience, focusing not so much on how it ends as to the fact that we’ve been invited to travel?

 

 

I have said it before and I will keep saying it until my own heart starts hearing it: So much in our walk with Jesus is about the journey as much as the destination. Obviously, we are moving toward eternity and our goal is heaven and restoration and communion with the Father. But the journey holds much treasure. Progress isn’t always measured in distance traveled. With Jesus, sometimes it’s in the steps retraced. A walk down a familiar road to see myself more clearly, to see Jesus more fully, to practice obedience and trust. And sometimes, the destination will be different. It certainly was for the stubborn fisherman who practiced true trust and obeyed without regard.

 

“But if you say so…I will.”

 

stubborn heart

 

I’ve been reading this morning through all the plagues that happen in Exodus 7-11. God showing time and time again his power and displaying himself for Pharaoh to acknowledge. God revealing that he does indeed control all of creation. It becomes frustrating to me to see the back and forth of Pharaoh and his heart. To witness him say again and again, “Okay, you can go to the wilderness to worship your God” only to have him change his mind again as soon as whatever plague he was enduring is lifted.

 

I found myself incredulous at his desire to bargain with God, to make deals, and then go back on his part when God did whatever Pharaoh wanted. In all the suffering and horror that the whole nation of Egypt was facing Pharaoh was only interested in himself and how it affected him personally.

 

“All right, go ahead,” Pharaoh replied. “I will let you go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God. But don’t go too far away. Now hurry and pray for me.”     Exodus 8:28

 

But the more I read the more I realized how much like all of us this is. Certainly not on this scale (if for no other reason than we simply are not in Pharaoh’s position). But we do this too, don’t we? We want to bargain with God. We want to agree to his calling, but with added “if” statements.

 

Oh God, if you would just give me this promotion I would be in a better place financially to give like I should.

 

Father, if you could help us get through this then we would just know for certain that you hear us when we pray.

 

What a great testimony this would be for others if God were to work this out for us!

 

I know that God comes through for me time and time again, but do I always do the things I’ve committed to do? I want to paint Pharaoh as this intentionally evil guy who purposefully snubbed God and delighted in the suffering of the people. Maybe he was, I don’t know. But maybe he was more like me.

 

I often harden my heart, not because I don’t care about God or because I delight in seeing others struggle, but because I’m afraid. Because I doubt. Because I don’t understand. Sometimes I’m just not paying attention and living God’s way has not been set as a priority for me. Sometimes I just forget because the moment brings more entertaining events than whatever God was trying to say to me.

 

But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn and he still refused to let the people go.       Exodus 9:7

 

I am stubborn too. I get bent on doing things a certain way, on seeing things a certain way. And sometimes I wonder, even for all the “plagues” I witness, even for all the ways in which God seeks to get my attention, how often do I just not see? How often do I just go back to my old ways as soon as the crisis is over? My heart can be so stubborn too.

 

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.            Romans 7:15, 21

 

you are here

But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”        Exodus 3:12

 

Does this bother anyone else? Do you notice the glaring issue here? Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m reading into it too much, but I don’t think so.

 

Moses protests God’s call for him to go and lead Israel out of its slavery and Moses objects. Not at the notion of freeing the Israelites, he objects at the idea of leading the charge. He doesn’t feel adequate. God’s answer is both brilliant and frustrating.

 

God replies with, “I will be with you.”

 

These are great words. These are encouraging words and I could go on and on about them if it weren’t for what’s distracting me. This isn’t all God says…

 

“And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

 

And this is your sign…Great! I like signs! I like proof! Tangible guarantees are always welcome…when you have brought the people out…wait, is that a sign? That’s not what I think of when I think of a sign. That’s definitely not what I want when I am being called to do something scary or difficult. I want a sign like Gideon gets in Judges 6. I want a miracle, or a voice, or an arrow of some kind pointing the way before I go about doing whatever it is I’m going to be doing.

 

But God calls this a sign when it’s an after the fact event? I don’t like it.

 

Granted in Exodus 4 God does give Moses a couple of other signs. Primarily because Moses just keeps arguing (we’ll get into that in the days to come), but I was struck this morning by God’s intention to not give Moses a sign until after he had obeyed.

 

I don’t like this, but I do know this. It would be great to always get signs from God about the choices we are going to make. It would be easier if God would always do something miraculous to make everything clear before we start moving. The fact is this isn’t usually how he does things. Or maybe I should clarify. Usually the biggest sign we get from God is the calling itself. The burden on our hearts, the constant heaviness of mind, the compelling sense that we should go in a certain direction and do a certain thing. The praying that only leads to more certainty within that this is the right path. These are often the best signs we get…until we are on the other side.

 

When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain.

 

Following God is a life filled with living by faith. We don’t have the luxury of a whole lot of sings. Sometimes the only sign we will get is the “You are here” at the end of it all. Instead we get promises: promises of the connections with God to come. Promises of the fact that God will be with us. Promises that he will guide our steps, light our path, and have more than enough grace for all our short-comings. And promises from God sometimes have to be enough. This is a life of faith after all. Trust in our Caller is sometimes all we have for ensuring that we will see the sign…on the other side.

 

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!”         2 Corinthians 1:20

 

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*arrow on the road photo by sardinelly

burning bushes

Moses and the burning bush. It’s one of the Bible classics. One of those stories we teach the kids. A bush on fire that doesn’t burn up. God revealing himself in such a peculiar manner. It’s a great story of the lengths God will go to in order to get our attention.

 

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. ”This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
   When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
  ”Here I am!” Moses replied.

 Exodus 3:2-5

 

Rabbi’s have long loved to ponder the question of just how long the bush remained there burning before Moses took notice. Was it only a minute? Had it been burning for days? The questions leads to a more personal one for each of us. What are the burning bushes in my own life?

 

Has God been trying to speak to me? Is the Lord saying something, showing me something that I am just not hearing or seeing?

 

Every time I read this I am caught up again in the curiosity factor. God didn’t pronounce his presence, he didn’t come to Moses in a dream, he did not write it out on the wall (although he is certainly not unwilling to do that!) God uses Moses’ own curiosity to fuel their meeting. He just burned a bush…that didn’t burn. And he waited.

 

Eventually Moses took notice and came looking. “I must go see.” And so God was there, waiting and ready to encounter Moses and forever change the trajectory of his life. There is a song by Andy Gullahorn called Burning Bushes. I always think of it when I come across Moses and his own burning bush.

 

I’m praying for a miracle to let me know you’re listening. Waiting for a lightning bolt to strike. Walking through a garden of a thousand burning bushes looking up to heaven for a sign.

 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss out on the burning bushes God has for me. Today I’m wondering, what ways is God trying to get my attention? What burning bushes are there? Where is God just waiting—waiting for me to come and listen and receive what he has to say and where he has to send?

 

It doesn’t have to be some unearthly expression to be God’s burning bush for us. Maybe it’s just a thought that won’t go away. A burden that won’t be shaken. An idea that seems to be on everyone else’s lips and spoken just for us. Could it be God? Could it be his burning bush just waiting until we get curious enough to check it out?

 

Why not take a couple steps in that direction? If it’s not God then you didn’t lose much; just a couple steps. If it is God, well, you will know—and soon! Aren’t you curious? Sometimes I think it’s tempting to expect God to show up in a set series of ways and look only to those types of his expression at the expense of anything outside it. But God may just surprise you. After all, it’s not everyday we read in the Bible about burning bushes. In fact, it was just that once…

 

you are who you are

It won’t be long now—at least to the eyes of the reader. It won’t be long until God makes his call to Moses; until God reveals the plan and sets Moses on his way to rescue the people. It won’t be long until Moses denies he is able; not long until he questions who he is to go and speak for God. We’re in chapter 2 and this happens in chapter 3. Not long—for those who read.

 

For Moses it’s forty years away. Forty years in exile. Forty years in hiding. Forty years is the price for acting in secret and hiding his sin…but I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we reflect on the forty years and the questioning of why God would call him we should see how his forty years of fleeing begins.

 

It begins the way it will end. It begins with a rescue.

 

Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.       Exodus 2:16-17

 

Moses flees to Midian and there comes upon seven daughters trying to care for their father’s flock. They are being mistreated and Moses comes to their rescue.

 

Did you get that? Do you see what’s happening here? Moses comes to their rescue. Moses, who will lead God’s people out of slavery—the one who will rescue them—is already rescuing. This is who he is. This is what he does. When the time comes for God to call Moses to lead out the Israelites he will doubt and question and beg for God to find another way, but God knows the one he calls. God knows that Moses is at heart a rescuer. For all his poor choices and his short fuse (this will get him into trouble later as well) Moses comes to the rescue of those in need. It’s just who he is.

 

In fact, isn’t this why Moses got here in the first place? Isn’t this why he fled into the desert? He killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite. He came to the rescue of the Israelite. Awkwardly, yes. With too much violence and not enough thinking, for sure. But still he was coming to rescue the oppressed. This is who Moses is.

 

It’s true that when God calls us to do things he often calls us to a place of stretching beyond our own abilities. It’s true that he often calls us to things we clearly cannot accomplish on our own. He knows from the beginning we will need to rely on him for it all the way through. That’s part of the design. That’s intentional.

 

But God also doesn’t call us randomly or haphazardly. It’s not an “anyone will do” mentality. He calls us to what we already are. He calls us so we’ll know; so we’ll see. He calls us so we will become what we are. God calls Moses to come to the rescue of his people because this is who Moses is. This is what Moses does. But Moses, for all his regrets and poor choices; for all his disconnectedness and fear can’t see it. He will when God calls him, but he never would without that chance, without that push from God.

 

God will probably not call you or me to rescue an entire nation of people. It’s probably not going to be something on that grand of a scale. But he will call us. He will push us into areas and events, into opportunities and problems that we don’t feel well equipped for. But God knows what he is doing. Part of the call is for those it will benefit and part of it is for us. So we will see what he sees. So we will see us for who we are.

 

When God and Moses finally talk God will be calling Moses to lead out his people; to come their rescue. What Moses doesn’t know is that this is what he’s been doing all his life already. He just didn’t have God guiding him. He just didn’t have the how to’s and the understanding for how to express it. He just didn’t yet have the presence of God to bring it to life. And so God calls him, not to something new, but to a better, more whole Moses than Moses could be on his own.

 

You are who you are—God made you that way. And only God can draw out of you the best you that’s there.

 

purpose

I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.

He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me;
God sends his love and his faithfulness.                   

Psalm 57:2-3

 

No matter how often I come across it in Scripture, I am constantly amazed at the notion that God has a purpose for me. I mean, think about it: he is God, he is the Creator of the Universe, the one who holds all things together. He sees all, knows all, is all powerful. And yet for each of us, there is a purpose.

 

There are like what, 6 billion people hanging around these days? That’s a lot of purposes all being worked out!

 

And on top of that, it’s not like Mission Impossible type purposes. God doesn’t come to us and say, “Here is the mission if you are brave enough or crazy enough to accept it. But if you should fail we will disavow all knowledge…” Okay, I know that’s not a word for word quote of the old Mission Impossible delivery of a mission, but it’s the general idea. And it’s not how God does it!

 

There’s no secrecy to protect the organization from bad press if we fail, there’s no “this message will self-destruct” warning. It’s just God saying to us, “I know the plans I have for you…”  It’s just an invitation to join him in what he is already doing; to be a part of something bigger and greater than ourselves. It’s an offering to find ourselves and our God more deeply along the way. And it’s not up to us to figure it out once the purpose is given. In fact, sometimes I think God withholds some of the details of what it is we are actually being given to do so that we don’t take it all on ourselves and try to do it on our own.

 

“I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.” God has a purpose for me, and he fulfills it. He makes it happen. He empowers me and guides me. He fixes the parts I mess up and corrects where I make wrong turns. This is good news. This is very good news. We have this propensity—because of sin—to ruin things. Not intentionally, not maliciously (at least not always intentionally!), but we do ruin things. It’s because we are ourselves a ruin. That is, with out Jesus changing us and filling us, without him forgiving us and leading us. And even then we lapse back to ruin from time to time.

 

So when God graciously gives a purpose to each of us he knows that he also needs to help get us there. And so, Psalm 57 says he sends from heaven and saves. And we need that saving time and time again. Because we are of ruinous tendencies we will need rescue all along the way. And God sends it. God sends his love and faithfulness.

 

It’s funny, when I am asking God for stuff, it’s usually…well…stuff. I don’t often ask God to send his love. I don’t often ask him to send his faithfulness. And it’s not like I’m implying that he won’t send it if we don’t ask. In fact, that reality that God’s love and faithfulness are unfailing is probably what causes us to not ask for it. We take for granted that it’s coming. But my point is that when we are asking God for something we are saying to God that this thing we are asking about is what we need right now. Or what we want right now. It’s kind of a glimpse into what’s going on within us and where we are placing our focus. It seems that God recognizes that often what we need when seeking to fulfill his purpose for us is more love and faithfulness.

 

So maybe that’s what I’ll ask for today. Love and Faithfulness. And then I can watch and see how God fulfills his purpose in me, for me, today.

 

It’s a great blessing to know that God has a purpose for us. And that he is about the business of fulfilling it. This is good news for today.

it wasn’t you, it was God

“I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.  “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt.  But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.     Genesis 45:3-6

  

 

“It wasn’t you who sent me here, it was God.”

 

Really?! That’s a phenomenal response in the face of those who sold him into slavery. I’m trying to insert my own circumstances here and look at how I typically respond when I’ve been wronged. Obviously I have no where near anything that compares to being betrayed by your family and sold as a slave. But I have been wronged, sometimes intentionally. And I’ve experienced what it’s like to have people plan against me, even if on a far less severe scale than Joseph.

And how do I respond?

It’s one thing to say I believe that God works all things for our good (even the bad things). But this is Joseph saying not only did God take the bad and make it good, but this bad thing was actually a part of God’s plan. He wanted me here so it wasn’t “bad” just painful for a time, and there is a difference. This is where Joseph was, what he knew and accepted.

And before they ask he has forgiven his brothers.

And without a pause he uses his power over them for their good, not for retribution.

And with no anger or bitterness he recognizes the hand of God that brought him to where he is, even if through some painful and difficult years.

YEARS.

This wasn’t a quick thing that Joseph went through. It took a long, long time to get “good.” And even longer for reconciliation. I don’t believe for a second that Joseph was always where he is at this point. I don’t believe he never doubted or never was angry at his brothers. But I’m inspired by his ability, over time, to come to this place of acceptance. Acceptance that God knew what He was doing and allowed this for not only Joseph’s good, but for the good of many.

To me, this is a glimpse into what surrender really looks like: Acceptance.

I am where I am, not because of my own efforts, and not because of the efforts (good or bad) of others, but because of God. If I accept that and stop fighting it. And if I accept that it’s ultimately good even if it feels bad at the moment, then I think I may be on my way to true surrender to Jesus.

how did I get here?

“I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”  Exodus 2:22

 

How did I get here?

When did life become this?

Ever look at your life, your surroundings and just wonder how you got where you are? How you ended up doing what you are doing or living where you are living?

It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it’s just surprising. You find yourself where you never expected to be. Doing what you never expected to be doing.

Sometimes it can feel exciting, and sometimes it can feel disappointing. But in most cases, it’s a bit disarming.

This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t the place. I expected to be more “successful” or I expected to be more established, or I just expected to be…well…more.

When I read the beginning of Moses’ story in Exodus I came across his statement:

I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.

Sometimes this is more true than we care to admit.

Again. It’s not necessarily bad. Sometimes being in foreign places in life, where I never planned to go, can be exactly where I need to be. It can be exactly where I want to be.

Or it could be like Moses’ situation. Maybe I’m in foreign territory because I’m on the run from my past. Maybe I got myself into this by poor choices, or an unwillingness to confront my problems.

Either way, the real question for us becomes can I accept where I am today?

Can I trust that God will guide my path? That he is in control?

Paul makes a bold declaration about his own circumstances:

…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.          Philippians 4:11-12

 

Will I be content today?

God’s plan for today

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.               Ephesians 2:10

 

Ever considered the fact that when you woke up this morning there were already good works prepared for you to do?

You don’t have have to do them, but they are there, ready for you to do them should you choose.

It’s pretty amazing to consider that when God created us, before we breathed a breath, God prepared the opportunities of today; the good works he would offer us.

I think it’s tempting to think of this in large and grand terms. To look for opportunities of immense consequence to identify as these good works. But in reality, our days are often made up of small and seemingly inconsequential moments. But these are the moments where we can find the works God prepared in advance for us to do. Opportunities to love and to serve.

God made plans for us today, and tomorrow, and the next day. And he made all these plans in advance.

I wonder what opportunities God has for me today?