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.

If this past year has taught me anything, it has taught me two things.

First, right when I think I have a handle on things … I don’t; and second, semantics does matter.

Last year was a tough one in many ways. Plans were interrupted. Life was put on hold. Dreams were deferred. I don’t know what the normal “grief” cycle for something like this is, but I personally went from compliance––to weariness––to anger to ______––and here is where I had a choice between two words –– resignation or surrender. And no, this decision was not “just a matter of semantics”—of personally ascribing a different meaning to a word to promote my own meaning. In this case, there is consensus that these two words do indeed mean something different.



Though both at their core mean “giving up,” resignation connotes a hopelessness, of not seeing a way out of a situation, of throwing one’s hands up in defeat and giving up on possibilities. 

Surrender also denotes giving up, but in surrender, a person gives himself over to someone else. He submits to someone else's authority. A stronger force. And with surrender, there is still a hope that life will be good if not better.

We know from history that surrendering to another human being will not always end up well. However, surrendering to God––an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, just, and loving God––who has our best interests in mind––will always be better. It just doesn’t seem like that to us because surrender means giving up our personal freedom and right to make our own choices and dictate our own lives … which always seems like a good idea until … we realize there is only so far that will really go.

A while back a friend of mine shared the following series of statements by Dr. Gary Smalley from his book The DNA of Relationships. They are statements of surrender––not resignation. Of surrendering to God. Here they are:

Today I will reduce my earthly expectations to as close to zero as I can get.

I will accept anything that happens as filtered by you.

I will use any disappointment as an opportunity to worship you.

I will sit quietly and ask you what you are telling me to do.

Last year, I realized there was only so much control I had over what happened around me––both on the world and the personal stage. There were things I wanted to happen that I had no power to make happen––but God did. There were disappointments and difficult times I wanted to avoid––but God didn’t. There was confusion and questions about why things were happening that I couldn’t answer––but God could. And there were walls I was butting my head against hoping I could make them move, but I couldn’t––but God could.

So this year, I decided I would start each day with reading and thinking about those four statements, realizing that if I began each day reminding myself that God was indeed in control, that perhaps I could better handle what the day brought.​

The result? Not surprisingly, because He said it would, it has brought a “peace … which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

My brother is responsible for this blog though he would never admit it. He’s kind of quiet that way. In fact, sometimes he’s so quiet that I don’t even think he is paying attention. When our family is Zooming (possibly  a nominee for 2020’s word of the year?), I don’t think he’s listening because he seems to be always looking at his phone. But then all of a sudden all of our faces slide to the right, and he is sharing his screen, and it’s then I realize––oh––he has been listening.



​
As we near the end of 2020, we are, paradoxically, all in a different place and yet in the same place. 

Some of you have endured incredible hardships this year, and at times it is difficult to keep going. For you, I would like to share Mandisa’s “Overcomer” video (courtesy of my brother). Most of us will recognize the four individuals in the video, but if you don’t, they are Robin Roberts, Scott Hamilton, Hannah Curlee, and Gabby Giffords. May this video be an encouragement to you.

All of us, have at times felt a loss of hope, an absence of peace, and/or a lack of trust. For all of us, I would like to share a couple of verses, a quote, and a video shared via my brother’s Zoom Sunday school class. I will refrain from comment and let the words speak directly to you.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C.S. Lewis

Finally, a song and video by Lincoln Brewster to encourage a very weary world. It reminds us, first, of the power and love of God and the beauty of the world He created. But, if you listen to the end, we are reminded again that it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed and the trust of a child.

May God speak love, peace, and hope into you this Christmas.

Today is July 4th, the day that normally expresses our unity and freedom, but this year’s lead up has not been all that encouraging. Some are questioning both of those attributes.

I think by now all of us have come to the realization that minds are not going to be changed. Period. No matter which side we are on––wear a mask––don’t wear a mask––police need to be defunded––police need to be supported––we have come to the conclusion that all of our pushing or pulling has only produced inertia, and all of our brilliant arguments are falling on deaf ears. We are each listening to the voices we want to hear.

In light of this reality, I would like to make a suggestion that could help us over this proverbial hump. (July 2nd, by the way, is the “hump day” of the year. Not bad timing.) It comes right out of that perpetual Amish calendar I love.

“It is better to give others a piece of your heart than a piece of your mind.”

Coronavirus. Record drops in the stock market. Devastating tornados. And that’s just the big stuff! Personal difficulties. A wayward child. An ill parent. A lost job. What is there not to be anxious about?





And yet that is what we have been told, yes commanded even. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Notice that nowhere in those verses does it say that everything will turn out okay. That no one will get sick. That your money will be safe or that lives won’t be lost. Though we want everyone to be healthy, out of danger, and financially secure, that isn’t what these verses promise. They promise peace. Peace through the difficulties. Why? Because ultimately God is in control.

Though we live in a fallen world filled with disease, death, disappointment, and downturns, nothing happens without God’s knowledge, and yes, permission. Does He cause it?––No. But as Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”. 

Job 12:10 adds, “In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”

But this does not mean that we should throw up our hands and do nothing.  We should always take precautions to minimize the risks that are within our control. But fear should never prevail. Because as I John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” And God’s love is perfect for He loves us intimately and formed each of us so specially.

Luke 12:7––“Why, even the hairs of your head are numbered.”

Jeremiah 1:5––“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

But ultimately it is God who determines our future and the number of days we have on this earth: Job 14:5 reminds us that “A person's days are determined; you [God] have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”

So remember that God’s perfect love for us translates to perfect peace. Isaiah 26:3––“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts you.​

Be prudent. Trust God. Experience peace.