Disappointed? What Did You Expect?

Years ago, there was something I wanted Scott to do --not just do, if I'm being honest, but something I wanted him to want to do. I began praying for my husband to have this idea. I prayed believing that if Scott had the idea himself, with no prompting from me, God was making the way and we were ready. As I said, that was years ago. Were there times I was tempted to plant that seed? You betcha. But had I placed my expectations on Scott, had I attempted to make my dream his dream before he was ready, I would have been disappointed. More than wanting the doing, I wanted the wanting. And it has been worth the wait. That's right! Scott had an idea --my idea; but that's okay, he's ready. And that's important. Readiness is an important condition of the heart. We can't always know if someone else is ready or not. And I have come to find, I can't always know if I am ready or not. But it's important to be ready to obey God.

In Exodus 2, we find Moses, adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh. He's got the authority, he's got the education. He's in his late thirties, or so, a prime candidate for leading God's people out of slavery, right? He takes a little trip to see his Jewish brothers and "look at their burdens." He spies an Egyptian savagely beating an Israelite, kills the Egyptian --perhaps, with his bare hands --and hides the body in the sand. Does God look down, smiling on Moses' love of justice and his zeal to use his great strength to right the wrongs done to His people? Nope. Instead, the next day, when Moses tries to break up a fight between two Israelites, one of the men exposes him for his murderous act. Pharaoh seeks to avenge Moses' crime, and Moses is forced to flee to the land of Midian. Forty years later --okay, he's about eighty now! --God calls Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt: not when he was young and strong and living in the palace. God called Moses when he was old and living as a shepherd and fugitive in the land of Midian, the land of the enemies of Israel. What was it God was teaching Moses during those forty years?

In Esther 1, we find a Persian king and his beautiful but disobedient wife. He is forced to "un-queen" her and holds a beauty contest to find himself a more beautiful and compliant partner. Hadassah, a young Jewish girl, is taken to the palace to be part of the pageant. The king is head over heels for this young woman he calls Esther and takes her as his queen. In the meantime, the king's right-hand man, Haman, had developed a personal grudge against Esther's uncle and the nation of Israel. Their only hope is the queen, as she not only has the king's favor, but is herself Jewish. Esther is beyond reluctant. In a soundbite that rings through the ages, Esther's uncle tells her, Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther enters the king's throne room unbidden --totally against company policy --and implements the plan for the saving of her people. This young Jewish girl, taken from her home, assimilated into foreign culture, and powerless against the whims of a heathen king succeeds in serving God's purposes and saving a nation. Beyond her circumstances, how had God prepared her for such a time as this? 

Jesus came to earth that we might have a Savior. His death was necessary that all might be saved and reconciled to God. Prior to His death, His three-year ministry was spent preparing those with Him to become fishers of men. Prior to His ministry, He entered a wilderness for forty days of fasting and temptation to prepare Him for what was to come. Prior to that, Jesus lived as we live, growing from a child into an adult, part of family and community life. Preparation. Readiness. Even for Jesus! But that's important. Rushing things rarely works out.

God knows us intimately. He knows when we are ready to serve, when we think we are ready to serve, when we are not at all ready to serve. He knows what it will take to equip us to serve. That is His department. We simply need to be ready to obey. We won't be disappointed.

A Word on Wednesday: The Music of Life

This was published in Streams in the Desert as the daily devotional for September 28. It blessed me, and I pray it blesses you as well.

 In me... peace (John 16:33).

There is a vast difference between happiness and blessedness. Paul had imprisonments and pains, sacrifice and suffering up to the very limit; but in the midst of it all, he was blessed. All the beatitudes came into his heart and life in the midst of those very conditions.

Paganini, the great violinist, came out before his audience one day and made the discovery just as they ended their applause that there was something wrong with his violin. He looked at it a second and then saw that it was not his famous and valuable one. He felt paralyzed for a moment, then turned to his audience and told them there had been some mistake and he did not have his own violin. He stepped back behind the curtain thinking that it was still where he had left it, but discovered that someone had stolen his and left that old second-hand one in its place.

He remained back of the curtain a moment, then came out before his audience and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen: I will show you that the music is not in the instrument, but in the soul." And he played as he had never played before; and out of that second-hand instrument, the music poured forth until the audience was enraptured with enthusiasm and the applause almost lifted the ceiling of the building, because the man had revealed to them that music was not in the machine but in his own soul.

It is your mission, tested and tried one, to walk out on the stage of this world and reveal to all earth and Heaven that the music is not in conditions, not in the things, not in externals, but the music of life is in your own soul.

If peace be in the heart,
The wildest winter storm is full of solemn beauty,
The midnight flash but shows the path of duty,
Each living creature tells some new and joyous story,
The very trees and stones all catch a ray of glory,
If peace be in the heart.

--Charles Francis Richardson

Don't Be a Noodge

Allow me to start off by saying, I don't keep anything from my husband. So, when I post something about him, he knows it. That being said, my husband is a bit of a noodge. A noodge has a tendency to remind others of things again and again to get others moving at the pace the noodge wishes to set. A little more annoying than a nudge, but much more tolerable than a nag. 

Did you order the filters yet? I will when you give me the money for them. **Hands me the money** Did you order the filters yet? And so it goes.

Another thing about my husband, he has a great heart. He can be a big kid --hence the noodging (noodgery?) --but it's only because he wants everything to be good, in order, right. He wants his kiddos safe, he wants his wife happy, he wants his house and vehicles in good repair. Those things are important to him, and it's hard for him to rest if questions are left unanswered or the horses are not all in the barn, so to speak. And he noodges because he is excited for outcomes. In the words of the Hannibal we all knew and loved before Lecter stole the stage: Scott "loves it when a plan comes together!" Seeing everything come to fruition, building projects completed, destinations arrived at --that gets him fired up for the next challenge.

So, the other morning I was praying. It was something I have been praying about, only this time my prayer sounded more like a noodge. Jesus, I'm trusting You to take care of this, but You know, we're getting close to that date and we don't seem to be any more prepared than we were a few months ago. Okay, does Jesus have no idea what's going on? Of course He does! He created time! He is eternal, above space and time. He doesn't obey the calendar or the sun and moon; they obey Him! Well, I repented of my nonsense, of course, but I got to thinking about that: how does God see our noodging (noodgery?)? I mean, I know why Scott does it. And though it sometimes gets under my skin, I try to respond with kindness and reassurance. I try to respond to the man who likes to know everything is good, rather than respond to the man who is, at that moment, reminding me of my children when they were small. I try to understand his fears and remind him of his Hope, rather than let myself begin to doubt. I try to redirect his excitement to things Jesus has already done, recalling God's faithfulness to us in the past, even in those things that didn't turn out the way we had anticipated. 

I'm not sure God would see our noodging (noodgery?) much differently. I'm no better friend, spouse, or parent than God is! If we try to treat others with kindness and patience, why would God remain so frustrated or angry with His people? Jesus is the propitiation for God's wrath toward us. Jesus is the mediator between us and our Heavenly Father. Jesus is our righteousness. Jesus bridges the gap created by sin, and is our intercessor, making sure we are saved and perfected all along the way, until we reach complete deliverance in heaven. God is not delusional; He remembers we are dust. If we could make it on our own, we wouldn't need Jesus; but we can't, and we do. Because God knows this, He gave us Jesus. Because God knows this, He gave us His Holy Spirit to teach us and help us remember what we have been taught, to fill us with hope, to equip us with His own gifts that we might serve God effectively, to change us from the inside out that we might bear good fruit for the Kingdom, and to keep us in Christ until the day we see Him face to face. Would someone so angry, so intolerant really put all of these measures in place to help us? Would a loving Father not love? Judgment is reserved for those who reject Jesus. In fact, that is so important, let me say it again --better yet, let me let the Scriptures say it:

He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. ~ John 12:48

So, for all of our failures and flaws --even all of the sins we continue to commit from time to time --we are not under judgment, not if we are children of God, the Bride of the Bridegroom, the friends of Jesus. He loves us and wants us whole; He was willing to die to ensure that, and He's not going back on His word. And isn't that a great reason to stop all our noodging (noodgery?)?