Prayer or Panic?

I've spent more time in an arcade in my fifties than I ever did in my teens. Grandchildren and our special boy have dictated we be a little more flexible in the things for which we budget our money and our time. Gaming and skee ball have never really been my thing, but during our latest outing, I stood and watched jealously as my husband and our bevy of kids enjoyed a simulated runaway train ride. The images on the screen took you into tunnels and across broken tracks while the seats shook and jerked, giving the illusion you were really in danger. Just to the end of the control panel was a big red button printed with the word STOP. A panic button of sorts. If you were feeling ill or the having some sort of reaction, you could hit the button and the ride would immediately stop. Makes sense, I thought. But it occurred to me that panic buttons only work with the things we can control, machines or games. Panic buttons rarely work in real life. Have you ever faced down a giant? Maybe not, but good luck finding the panic button as his shadow looms over your teeny-tiny frame. Have you ever spent the night in a cave full of hungry lions? I would imagine a family room full of teenage boys might be closest. No amount of panic is going to put an end to their growling stomachs. My point is, when I look at some of the most unjustly persecuted, vulnerable, ordinary people in the Bible --and some since --I am amazed at their response to danger.

1 Samuel 17. Here was David, the youngest boy in his family, out delivering food to his brothers, when he hears the taunts of the Philistine giant, Goliath. David is gob smacked! Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And why are the armies of Israel doing nothing about it? David approaches the giant with his sling and a few stones in his hand and the boldness of a man of God (1 Samuel 18:28) in his heart (and on his lips. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands. And it was so. While others panicked, David prayed.

Daniel 6. Daniel had been kidnapped and taken away to Babylon. The king wanted to make him and his friends into his little proteges. The young men respectfully declined. They would not deny the God of Israel. A decree was written that prayer to anyone but the king was forbidden; violators would be cast into a lions' den. Daniel prayed. Some jealous onlookers turned him in. Daniel prayed. Much to the king's dismay, his hand was forced, and the penalty was applied. Daniel prayed. Did the lions pace? Did their stomachs growl? Daniel prayed. In the morning, the king was so relieved to find Daniel alive and so grateful to the God who had saved him, King Darius threw those tattle-tales to the lions and praised the Lord! While the king panicked, Daniel prayed.

And upon facing the humiliation and excruciating pain before Him, Jesus came to a garden, "fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'” While His friends panicked and fled, Jesus prayed.

Wow! What courage! What remarkable faith! What incredible obedience! We can marvel all day long, but the Bible tells us, these things were recorded that we might know who Jesus is, that we might have life in His name, learn, receive patience and comfort, have hope, be forewarned, and correct our own behavior that we might withstand these times. These things were written that we imitate, that we obey rather than argue, that we submit rather than challenge, that we learn rather than be merely entertained, that we go forth in boldness rather than cower in fear, that we pray rather than panic. What would have happened had panic been the response? Panic never downed a giant. Panic never shut the mouths of lions. Panic never gave birth to one eternal life. 

Details have changed, but mankind has not; and God's admonition that we trust Him rings through the ages as trustworthy and victorious. We are to do through prayer and obedience --the only response that truly works --and leave the panic at the arcade.

To Whom Are You Grateful? By Whom Are You Blessed?

This time of year, the couple of months just after the "big Christmas rush," there's not much going on. So, the marketing geniuses that be look for ways to keep the wave going. Awards shows and the Super Bowl. There's crazy money in product endorsements and commercials, parties, fashion trends and downloads. But over and over, those exploited by said geniuses (Don't feel too sorry for them, they are paid handsomely), those who take the stage and stand in the spotlight go on and on about how grateful they are and defer any credit to being #blessed. But by whom? And this sort of thing doesn't stop with celebs. Someone on social media posts how grateful they are for the view from their 5-star hotel room. Without a doubt! It's a gorgeous view, I'm sure, and the pictures won't come close to doing it justice. But if you don't believe in the God of the Bible, the Creator that I and many others worship and have worshiped over the millennia, the One True God, to whom are you grateful? The universe? An inanimate, created entity? 

There's this thing about gratitude, a warm, gushy, happy kind of thing. It's joyous, weightless; it bubbles up from deep within us without our even summoning it or being able to restrain it. It overflows into smiles and teary-eyed thank-yous to --who? I mean, if you've got no one to thank, if you can't (or won't) attribute this bubbling to anything more than butterflies in your stomach or kombucha, what then? Let me suggest a target upon whom to land your little dart of gratitude, a wellspring from whom to draw as you seek blessing. Almighty God. Elohim. 

Romans 1:18-23 says:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Simply put, ain't none of us ignorant. Those who have the capacity to see and reason, know. We all sin, and we know when we do it. We know we shouldn't be doing 70 in a 55, but here we are. We know we shouldn't eat a handful of grapes before the cashier weighs them, but here we are. And as for our relationship to God? Look around! If you think He doesn't exist, study the bees, ecosystems, space, physics, chemistry, physiology, neuroscience, horticulture. All of creation and its natural laws testify to His forward thinking, His intelligence, His organizational skills, His power, His creativity!

So, where does someone like me --the 70 in the 55 girl-- get off thinking I could accomplish anything without someone like Him? How do I --the chipmunk-looking girl standing here in Produce --stack up against a God like that? Here I am, breaking the law just to shave off a few extra seconds or catch a three-minute sugar rush, when God, the God of the Bible created time and acres of vineyards all over the earth! I can't do anything good without Him! Even on my best days, the days I'm not mashing pedals or pinching fruit, my lungs need something called oxygen. His invention. (Oh, yeah, and so are my lungs.) When I'm trying to be kind and sweet and encourage someone or save a puppy or something, I need mobility and brainpower and speech and a puppy. All His ideas. All things He holds in place.

But there's more. When that little dart of gratitude lands on some obscure thought, some manmade being or essence, God is robbed of the glory due Him. When the wellspring of blessing is declared to be someone or something born this side of eternity --or declared to be really nothing at all, just some sort of ridiculous platitude or trendy idea, we become fools, our hearts become darkened, and we exchange the glory of an incorruptible God for something that will never last. 

So, if you're feeling grateful, ask yourself where you're choosing to direct that gratitude. If you're dying to tell someone how #blessed you are, make sure you tell them the True Source of that blessing. And make sure you know Him first.

Midweek: Review: The Prayer Bible

I drink my coffee black, no sweetener. I shop at thrift stores and happily accept hand-me-downs. I don't own a dishwasher. My guiltiest pleasure is used books. I'm basic. That is why I just LOVE this Bible from Thomas Nelson Publishers: The Prayer Bible, NKJV is basic at its best! 

The complimentary edition I was invited to peruse is a black hardcover, but there are Leathersoft and leather editions available as well as other color options. There are no colorful maps and no concordance, but what is present is a constant reminder that Scripture should lead us to prayer, to turning our focus to our Creator and Redeemer. So often, we fall into the habit of gleaning something for ourselves, of reading Scripture with a What's-in-it-for-me mindset. For sure, we are to apply what we learn and stand on the promises found in God's Word, but the Bible is revelation from Genesis to --well, Revelation. The Bible reveals who God is, and that should cause us to speak to Him and listen for His voice through prayer. Reading Scripture should be a cyclical practice: we pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance as we read, we pray in response to what we've read, and we meditate throughout the day on that. Thomas Nelson's The Prayer Bible is a wonderful way to begin and continue to engage in that habit. As a matter of fact, the back of this edition has a list of prayers from the Bible and articles entitled Why Read the Bible, Steps to Engage, and Scripture Engagement vs. Bible Study. A short essay on Spiritual Disciplines and Scripture Engagement explains just how being immersed in God's Word regularly equips us to apply those things we have gleaned from our reading, for our benefit and God's glory. 

Of course, this edition has some of the usual accoutrements: a lovely presentation page, a satin ribbon bookmark, an introduction to each book of the Bible, and a 365-day reading plan, but in my opinion, the best feature by far is the "prayer prompts" found frequently throughout the text. As we read about the instructions God gave for the building of His tabernacle, we are encouraged to examine our worship and ask God to help us worship in the manner He desires. Throughout the Psalms, prayer prompts challenge us to praise and cry out and repent with the psalmists to draw our heart into worship of and reliance on the Lord for all things. As we read through familiar passages of Scripture, prayer prompts work to slow us down and refocus our attention in novel ways. 

 So, if you're basic like me, or if you're just looking for a way to get back to basics, I would encourage you to check out Thomas Nelson Publishing's The Prayer Bible. It's available through Amazon, Christianbook, FaithGateway and other retailers.

Fig Leaves and a Fancy Coat

Have you ever been treated harshly? Have you ever been rejected and despised by someone you thought might actually love you? 

The deepest hurts, the most painful betrayals come from the people closest to us. You can't very well be betrayed by someone whose opinion doesn't matter much to you. But to be stripped and thrown into a pit to die by your very own brothers? That's a whole new level of heartbreak, but that's what happened to Joseph, son of Israel, in Genesis 37. Verses 23-24 of the Complete Jewish Bible put it this way:

So it was that when Yosef arrived to be with his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the long-sleeved robe he was wearing, and took him and threw him into the cistern (the cistern was empty; without any water in it).

There'd been some tension between Joseph and his brothers --half-brothers, actually, and that was part of the problem. Joseph and his brother, Benjamin, were the product of Israel's relationship with his favorite wife, Rachel. The remaining sons came to be through another marriage and Israel's union with two slave girls. Joseph's father had made him a beautiful coat to demonstrate his great love for his son. When the other sons of Jacob were out in all sorts of weather tending their father's sheep, Joseph was keeping an eye on them and, apparently, they weren't always doing what they were supposed to be doing. He snitched. To Dad. But his loquaciousness didn't stop there; he was sure to tell his brothers about his dreams, dreams in which they and their father would bow to Joseph. Yeah, it became a tense situation. 

On one particular day, the brothers decided to act on their anger. They seized Joseph, stripped him of his robe, and threw him in an empty cistern. Did Joseph deserve a little comeuppance? Perhaps, but his brothers fully intended to kill him! Only the self-seeking ploy of the oldest brother, Reuben, saved him from that fate (v. 21-22). But I'm not sure you could have convinced Joseph he was better off. After all, his family orchestrated, carried out, and seemingly celebrated his betrayal: as he sat stripped, alone, and wondering in a dark pit, his brothers sat down to lunch. Pretty savage.

In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve turned their backs on God, they knew they were naked. They'd always been naked, and it had never been an issue. What changed? They'd been stripped, stripped of their identity, stripped of their protection, stripped of everything that had before kept them pure and happy and holy and free. They felt compelled to create something of their own to stand in the place where the covering of their undefiled relationship with God once stood. The sewed fig leaves. Fig leaves! Think about that. How good are fig leaves against the cold? How good are fig leaves for comfort? How good are fig leaves at wicking away sweat? How good are fig leaves for durability? Compared to cotton, fig leaves wouldn't be much, but compared to being under the shadow of the Almighty, under His wings, behind the shield of His truth...? Hah! Rubbish!

And it was in a pit that Joseph, too, sat stripped. Stripped of any illusions about his brothers' feelings or intentions. Stripped of his dignity, his hubris, the self-satisfaction that may have prompted him to share his dreams with the very family members who had "bowed before him." Stripped of the comfort and safety of his father's home --perhaps, forever. Stripped of any longings to be counted as one of the brothers, sons of Israel. Stripped of the life he knew. Stripped of a coat that blazed with the favor and honor of a sinful man. Stripped of all those things that once made him feel normal, comfortable, special, even self-righteous. But God! Genesis 50:20 records Joseph's words to his brothers years later:

You meant to do me harm, but God meant it for good — so that it would come about as it is today, with many people’s lives being saved.

I believe --in fact, I testify, the walls I built around my life to protect me from the world were insufficient. The hardness I developed, the lies I told to best a crooked system, the recompense I stole in payment for terrible things done to me, the success for which I strove that I might make those who betrayed me look ridiculous, the behaviors that brought embarrassment to those who I believed deserved to bear my shame, the things I accumulated and the reckless antics I pursued --all of these fig leaves, by God's grace, withered and died. I was stripped, left naked without them, in a dark pit with nothing but my thoughts and the God who faithfully, lovingly held out His hand to me. As He did Adam and Eve. As He did Joseph. The God who is not necessarily looking to replace things others have taken from us, but to show us how little those things matter and how great life under His protection and provision is. The God who assures us, the worst of this life can be the best of an eternal one, a life without pretense and pride, fickle fame and fleeting finances, youth with no substance and age with no wisdom. Sometimes the stripping is necessary that we might be clothed in something much more eternal, much more worthwhile.