A Stormy Encounter

Yesterday on my bike ride (bicycle) I had an encounter with God. You see, it was early evening, summer, and I live in Florida. That means afternoon showers are always a possibility. Well, to be more exact, thunderstorms.

As I pulled out of the driveway to begin my 10 mile bike ride, I noticed some very black clouds to the east. But above me and to the north, south and west it was beautiful blue sky. I have learned that the direction a storm may take in Florida is, well, unpredictable. But the clouds seemed to be far off so I decided to venture out.

I was pleased with my decision as I soon discovered a strong breeze from the west going east. "That will help push those clouds away" I thought. About 2 miles into the ride I noticed the black clouds filling more of the eastern sky and even taking over some of the southern sky. Hmmm, I wondered if I should turn back. I looked west, the direction I was riding, and saw only blue sky. I kept going hoping the stormy looking clouds would be "all show and no go".

Now 5 miles out I began to wonder if I'd made the right decision. I listened to my worship music as I peddled but doubt filled my mind. The clouds were not going away. They continued to expand and even looked a little darker. I began to pray that God would allow me to finish my ride without having to find shelter. Filled with worry, and just a little fear, I focused on the blue sky that still owned the western sky. In fact, the sun continued to beat down on me as if there were no clouds in the sky at all. But every once I while I looked over my shoulder to see what was behind me.

Now heading east, because that was the only way to get back home, the sun is on my back and I no longer get to look at the blue sky. Only the looming clouds. Fear became constant. Not once did I look over my shoulder at the blue sky, I only worried about the storm. Will I make it home? Are those clouds going to expand even more? I reasoned if it got really bad I could turn around again and head west, toward blue sky. After all, I have been known to sustain almost 12 miles per hour on my bike if I had to; and there wasn't any hills; and I didn't have to go against the wind; and....

Hmmm, how fast can a storm move?

Again, I prayed. This time my thoughts reminded me of when God parted the Red Sea. Surely He could keep these clouds away. One soft blow from His lips and they could be completely gone. God knew I'd be out here, at this time, on my bike. He knew. He could even part the clouds giving me safe passage home. I only needed it to stay calm for about 30 minutes. No longer focusing on the storm but instead on God, my fear slowly faded away. Trust and faith took over. Even if the storm reached me, God would provide shelter if needed. It was 95 degrees, perhaps the clouds just look ominous, perhaps a light cool rain would come out of them. I knew in that moment that if it stormed, or if it stayed calm and I was just on the edge of the storm, God was with me. I looked at the clouds and saw beautiful white billows scattered between the black ones. With God, even in the storms of life He can reveal beauty we would not otherwise see. Beauty we would miss if we avoided the storm out of fear of the unknown, or if we focused only on the storm and not on God.

The last 3 miles of my bike ride seemed to go all too fast. The storm clouds became a source of strength as I watched them move and change, revealing even more beauty. Things I'd never seen before. All the while the sun kept shining. I thought about battles I face daily in ministry and in my personal life. Some are storms that seem like they will never end. If I focus on the storm, I miss what God is trying to show me in it. If all I can wish for is that it would be over, then I can't learn while I'm on the journey.

I arrived home safe. Not even one drop of rain fell on me. The sun never disappeared behind the clouds. The edge of the storm taught me a lot about life and God. At one point in my prayer I felt God say "Trust Me". I responded, "I trust you Lord, but do you trust me?" You see, if I only play it safe, if God never trusts me with the hard stuff, if I always avoid or try to escape the storms, am I really living for God? I pray I carry the lessons learned on this bike ride with me as I face life's storms. I pray I forge ahead with strength knowing I am never alone. I pray I seek God in the calm AND in the storm. I pray I give God reason to trust me.

Nahum 1:7
The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.

Isaiah 25:4-5
But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.

Psalm 91:1-6
We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods. This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. For he rescues you from every trap and protects you from the fatal plague. He will shield you with his wings! They will shelter you. His faithful promises are your armor. Now you don’t need to be afraid of the dark anymore, nor fear the dangers of the day; nor dread the plagues of darkness, nor disasters in the morning.


May you learn to trust God even more.
May you give God reason to trust you.
And, may God be your strength as you face life's storms.

The Gift

It has been a while since I wrote poem. Gary and I attend a small group with people we go to church with. The group's focus is on worship music and most (if not all) are musicians. Well, except me. I love music, I'm just not musically gifted. Over the summer we are being challenged to write a worship song, including the melody.

At our recent gathering we learned 3 original songs, written by members of our small group. I was very moved by the words of these songs and you could hear their souls in the offering. It felt like holy ground.

While, I won't be writing any music, it did motivate to get back to writing poetry. A love I've had since elementary school. The poem below is loosely based on my "life verse", Ephesians 2:10. There is also an English reference in it, we'll see who gets that. :)

The Gift

Here I am head bowed down

My head where God has placed His crown

Not my own, I belong to Him

Saved by Grace, what a gift

The gift cannot be earned, in hell I will not burn

The gift came with a cost, Christ died to save the lost

Open this gift from Christ

Salvation is inside

Eternity in Heaven

Death is not the end

The gift that can’t be earned, offered without any scorn

The gift given with pure Love, from God the Father above

You ask, what is the price?

It’s been paid by His sacrifice

Jesus, God’s only Son

Gave His all, so we could be won

The gift cannot be earned, through it we are reborn

“God’s masterpiece” we’re called, go – do good things for all

The gift that can’t be earned

The gift with no return

God offers ALL the gift

Salvation , Heaven’s lift

Amen

Barb's theory of Biblical truism

Do you ever go to the grocery store and get overwhelmed at all the choices? I do. I didn't even realize the magnitude of choice until I traveled overseas. Grocery stores there can be very small. Typically the size of a Starbucks or maybe, if you are lucky, a Panera. There is no bread aisle. There is a bread shelf. The same for cereal. But here, in the United States, we have grocery stores the size of department stores (and bigger)!

The cereal shelf IS an entire aisle. I stand there looking at the hundreds of boxes and get overwhelmed. "Why can't there just be 3 or 4 choices so I could grab one and get out of here?" It is easy to get stuck in one aisle for a long time if I am at all indecisive. I can get lured in to a new cereal just by the prettiness of the box, only to find I don't like what is inside once I get it home. Then I'm stuck wishing I had just bought what I always buy.

Occasional I discover a new favorite! What a joy that is. I enjoy every delicious bite and go back to the store to buy it again. Sometimes the store has "remodeled" and it is not in the place where I found it last time. So the search begins. Sometimes it has been discontinued, or was just a "limited time" special. In my disappointment I go back to my old favorite. But something has happened to it. The box looks different. OH NO, it is "new and improved"! I know that means it is different and I most likely won't like it any more.

Religion can be like grocery shopping. There are many choices out there. Consider these facts:

• There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.
• One study I found states there are over 33,000 Christian denominations.
• Within the Lutheran church alone there are some 140 variations, 211 in the Baptist denomination.

The more I researched this, the more overwhelmed I felt.

I meet so many people seeking "something". Looking for "something" to believe in. Lured in to fads and popular ideas that have no depth or lasting significance. At some point in the conversation I will ask them if they have ever read the Bible. Immediately they show signs of disdain. They don't believe in the Bible. It is dismissed as fake, made up, old-fashioned, etc. I've heard it all. Yet, they willing accept evolution as fact when it is theory. They believe it is possible that there is life elsewhere in the universe when we have no scientific proof ("I saw a movie once that made a lot of sense to me.", is what I typically hear). They may believe that "mother nature" rules everything and their "aura" will be absorbed back into the earth to create energy of some type. Or, what I hear the most is, "There is something bigger than us, but it is too hard to figure it out." They are overwhelmed by all the input they have received over time and have decided NOT to pick one.

This is not limited to those who have not accepted Christianity or are "unchurched". This feeling of not knowing what to believe. Christians are just as confused. They want to believe the Bible but they don't want to appear to be uneducated. I heard that in a recent study of Christians, less than 9% have a true "Biblical" worldview. How can this be?

I have a theory. We will call it "Barb's theory of Biblical truism". Here it is:

I believe we feel like we have to know everything about everything before we will have the confidence to say something is true. I believe we (humans) have this unmet need to have all the answers before we are willing to stand firm on a Biblical world view. We have to first disprove the opposition. If we can't, well then we leave room for doubt. Sometimes I think we don't understand the true meaning of "faith". Also, sometimes we have issues with authority and to bow to God just because He is God, well, that might just be asking too much. Sometimes we just want to live life "our way".

BUT, if we spend any time in God's word, what we call the Bible. I think, God reveals truth to us in a way we can understand. Not ALL things are revealed. If they were, then why have faith at all.

Job 11:7 "Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty?"

I can't. BTW, God is not looking for the religious only the faithful.