Right after I posted last week’s blog about the reality of troubles and God’s omnipresence, I read the devotional for May 30th in my Experiencing God Day by Day and found the first line surprising.

The author writes, “Some feel that they demonstrate great faith by continually asking God for miracles.” What was wrong with that? I wondered.

But it’s not the asking that’s the issue. It’s the heart behind the asking. Blackaby says the problem is not about laying the needs before God, because God says to bring everything to Him (Phil. 4:6), but in “presuming” that he wants to “heal anyone who is sick or provide a miraculous escape from every difficulty.” He recounts Jesus’s condemnation of those who “insisted” Jesus perform miracles, knowing that in their hearts their faith relied on the acts and not the person. And then he made a convicting statement.

“There are times when we prefer the miracle over the miracle worker.” Now that hit home.

I know I am guilty of that many times over. I want the healing or the escape or the answer and then I will offer my praise and thanks.

Blackaby reminds his readers that Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego made the following declaration before king Nebuchadnezzar right before they were thrown into the fiery furnace. They said, “Our God who we serve is able to deliver us . . . But if not . . . .”

They didn’t need God’s miracle to affirm their faith. “They trusted Him so completely that they did not ask to be spared.” They knew He would if that was His will.

Philippians 4:6 tells us to place our concerns before God, but that is in the context of relieving our worry, demonstrating our faith, and living the day. It is to remind ourselves that God is ultimately in control.  Our faith is in the God who can and not dependent on the answer.

Sam and Becca Mizell wrote a wonderful song called “More than Anything.” Natalie Grant heard it after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. (You can read the entire story behind the song here: More Than Anything)

I have also attached the song for your enjoyment. I might have shared it before, but it is always worth reminding ourselves of what, or rather who, is most important.

Well, it happened again.

I turned the calendar from May to June and the temperature made its move from the high 80s/low 90s straight to the 100+ mark. I’m not sure why I’m surprised. It happens every year, and the weather gurus warned us it was coming. I guess I was just hoping that this year might be different. That spring would last a little bit longer and that summer wouldn’t come in quite as hot. But that is like thinking that people intuitively know how to stop a Segway or that hitting the elevator button multiple times will actually make it arrive faster. It just ain’t gonna happen. Heat is just a part of where I live.

As humans we often wonder/question why certain things do happen. Why young people have life threatening illnesses. Why good people lose their jobs. Why we are having certain problems.  We question the fairness of it. We question the sense in it. We question and question.

As Christians, we sometimes, in the back of our minds, feel we should be immune from some of these harsh realities because “God’s got our back,” and we will escape unscathed. But we aren’t. Just like the heat comes to the Northstate on the heels of May, so trials and troubles come to everyone in a world that is fallen.  

In fact, nowhere in the Bible (please correct me if I am wrong) could I find anything that said we would not face troubles and trials. Instead, I found the promise that we would face them.

“In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33)

Or as Peter told the Christians of his day, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (I Peter 4:12)

Peter reminded his fellow believers that not only would Christians face the troubles that beset the entire human race, but as followers of Christ, they would experience some added heat.

But what I also found was the promise that God was and is always there during these times.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

“The Lord is . . . a stronghold in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9-10)

But the absolute clincher is the rest of John 16:33 which I have bolded.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble . . . But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Now that should provide permanent relief from the heat.

I love music. All styles of music. Well, almost all. There are a few genres I’m not crazy about. But I must admit one of my favorites is dance music. Now, I can’t dance a lick, but I love the positive, heart-pumping, endorphin-creating, body-moving beat of dance music.

Which is why I was surprised to hear that dance beat with Jordan Feliz’s new song “Next to Me.” The lyrics are all about being out of sync with God, the struggle of wanting to be in control of his own life. But after thinking about it … well … I was reminded of another dance party … years ago.

The Ark of the Covenant was the physical reminder to the Israelites that God was there with them, and the place where God would meet them. It housed three items: the Ten Commandments, a golden pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that blossomed. After Moses’s death, the Ark was located in Gilgal, then moved to Shiloh for 400 years because of the Israelites massive disobedience. It then fell into the hands of the Philistines, who promptly gave it back when they were plagued by plagues. Then it went to Kiriath-jearim.

But when David was anointed king, he wanted it back in Jerusalem. In his haste, he did not follow God’s instructions for transporting the Ark and a man’s life was lost and David’s plans were put on hold. But finally, David was able to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. So excited was he to have the object that demonstrated God’s faithfulness and very presence so close to him that David “danced before the Lord with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14).

So it is no wonder that Jordan Feliz chose dance music for this particular piece because though the song confesses his struggles, it also emphasizes God’s patience and constant pull to bring him back to where he needs to be––right next to Him.

When you realize that there is no better place to be than right next to God … well … you can’t help but dance.

We must learn that, like farmers, we can’t sow and reap the same day.
(Amish perpetual calendar for May 12)

Last week I told you I made five lists … to get myself reorganized and back on track. That was Step One. This week is Step Two.

I almost picked a picture of a pair of legs (belonging to a body, of course) walking a road that went on for miles, until it disappeared into its vanishing point. But I didn’t. Why? Because that is the problem most of us have when we make lists.

Lists are meant to help us accomplish things in the future . . . even if it is just a tidy house. Though we need to keep that future goal in sight, the problem comes when we keep looking up and that destination point still seems a long way away. That’s when we get overwhelmed and discouraged and give up.

So instead, I chose the picture you see. The one of just a couple of feet (still attached to a body), but with only a few steps visible. Unlike Superman, we cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound; we have to climb the stairs one by one. So, even if we stop to rest for awhile on a step, or we lose our balance and drop down a step, if we just continue to take those steps, we will reach our goal. We will complete our task. We will arrive at our destination.

I can remember when we would instruct students on how to go about writing their first term paper. We would break the process down into its parts and then deal with each one individually and in a manageable length of time. And we would be right there with them every step of the way, to help, to remind, to correct. Amazingly, (or not) all finished.

God is no different and a whole lot better at it. He knows all about big plans and human frailty, and so he does those exact two things. First, He only gives us what we need when we need it. And second, He promises to be there with us every step of the way.

Joshua was told he would take Jericho, at big task, but Joshua’s job was just to have his warriors circumnavigate the city one time each day, then on the seventh, march around seven times and have the priests blow their trumpets. Just one task a day, and one day at a time.

There is a reason Jesus instructs us to pray for our daily bread and to not worry about tomorrow. One day is just about all we can handle, and all we need to handle. Today is within our power. Tomorrow is in His.

I made five lists last week.

You see, I live neat, but work messy. What that means is that most of my house is pretty tidy, but my study . . . my desk, the folding table next to it, the top of the printer, and, yes, sometimes even the floor are pretty chaotic. I’ve always been like that. Every desk I have ever occupied has had random piles, scattered papers, and loads of loose files strewn about. But I knew where everything was––or at least where everything was supposed to be.



But there comes a point where the notes and scraps of paper and rough drafts start to build up. Even the “tidy” house begins to gather dust and accumulate discarded magazines and unread mail.

My life follows the way of all life, the way of the world, the way of the universe . . . at least so says the second law of thermodynamics: “There is a natural tendency of any isolated system to degenerate into a more disordered state.” Or, to put it even more simply, everything moves from order to disorder.

Hence the five lists: reading schedule (two book clubs, you know), writing schedule, household chores that need to be done, household projects I need to do, house projects I need someone else to do.

Once I made the lists, I felt a sense of order return. Now all I had to do was follow the lists.

I have noticed that, if left unattended, my spiritual life follows this same fate. Though I don’t want to be Pharasitic, (Is that a word?) and just go through the motions, I know that if I don’t impose––and follow––some sort of order, disorder will creep in, and if allowed to continue, a sense of unrest will soon follow. I am not alone. In fact, the Bible (primarily the Old Testament) is filled with accounts of those who experienced the spiritual order to disorder shift and needed to repent and regroup. It also shared the accounts of those who maintained a spiritual routine in their lives (such as Daniel) and so were able to withstand multiple spiritual attacks.  

Fortunately, we don’t need as many “lists” to reclaim spiritual order as we sometimes do to create earthly order. Psalm 119:2 says, “Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.”

Which means? Talk to God (through prayer) and let Him talk to us (through the Bible), and then do what He says. Doing those three things regularly will help keep our spiritual lives in order.