Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!   As we pause today to be thankful, let us remember to Whom it is we give thanks....

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High Psalm 92:1

proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
    and telling all your wondrous deeds  Psalm 26:7

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”   Revelation 7:2

In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus    I Thessalonians 5:18

Thank you, Lord, for Your abundant grace towards us all.  Amen.

How to respond in tough times

Moreover, David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. I Samuel 30:6

Get the picture. The “moreover” in this verse refers to what’s going on in David’s life: he is being pursued by King Saul (who intends to kill him); his family (and those of all his soldiers) has been kidnapped by hostile enemies; and his followers are on the verge of mutinous rebellion. No wonder the future king of Israel was distressed!

Note his response. David’s default action in difficulties was not to first figure out how to solve the problem. He did not whine or complain or panic. After a situationally appropriate time of grieving, (v. 4), Scripture tells us that David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

What does that mean and how can we learn to do it, too?

The first thing we do is to look at what “strengthened” means. The Hebrew word is “chazaq”. It means “to be bound fast, to be attached, to make firm, to support.” This evokes the picture of a mighty cathedral being fortified with buttresses for support. That is a strong image!

What the writer of I Samuel is conveying to us is that David attached himself to the Lord - that was the source of strengthening for him. But not a weak velcro type attachment - rather this is demonstrating to us a firm binding, the support necessary to sustain stability. In the midst of desperate and distressing circumstances, David knew that only God could provide the strength and support he needed to survive.

One other important word in this passage is a short little pronoun - “his”. The verse says that David strengthened himself in the Lord HIS God. That tells us at least a couple of things - one, that David knew God personally. This was not the God of his fathers - this was his own. Also, this does not tell us that God became his during this time but rather the Lord as his God was already established. David was characterized by turning to the Lord all the way through this book and we see that his default was a habit that served him well. The rest of this passage tells the story of how God answered him, enabled him to not only defeat his enemies but also to rescue everything they had taken, and blessed his soldier with the spoils of victory. Strengthening led to success.

So that is what it means what it says David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. But how exactly did he do that? And how can we do the same?

First, instead of caving in to the distress and despair, David turned to the Lord. His default response is recorded elsewhere in Psalm 18 where he says I love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised and I am saved from my enemies.

We see from the verses that David penned in this Psalm that he clings to God as his refuge, the source of his strength - no doubt he called forth memories of the many times God had literally saved him. From lions and bears and a giant and a murderous king. David had witnessed firsthand God’s faithfulness and this formed his habit of turning to his Lord in times of distress.

In addition to calling upon the Lord because of his relationship based on God’s trustworthy faithfulness, we see that David sought wisdom .Verse 7 says that he went to the priest and asked for counsel in knowing what to do. With that godly support, he asked God for direction. Then he waited for the answer! We don’t know how long it was before God answered - perhaps it was quick but maybe not. Regardless, Scripture shows us that David did not act until he heard from the Lord.

AND THEN he obeyed what God had said to do! The rest of this passage tells us how David acted with courage, compassion, and generosity as he followed what God sent him to do. Calling on the Lord, recalling His faithfulness, responding in obedience, and remembering that our relationship with the Lord always includes the right treatment of others. David not only rescues ALL who had been taken captive by the enemy, he also shared the spoils of war with everyone - even those who had not participated in the rescue.

How can we follow the example of David and learn how to handle difficulties victoriously? We can purpose to turn to the Lord as our source of strength, our “chazaq”.I love that this passage includes the intense emotion that David felt (v. 4 “David and the people with him lifted up their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep”) and acknowledges our humanity - we do need to process our emotions! But where do we go from there? Instead of giving in to panic or despair, instead of relying on our own abilities and resources, instead of remaining in the inevitably intense emotions, we can turn to the Lord. How, practically, do we do that? We recall the character of God. Recounting times of His faithfulness to us. Rehearsing the truth of Who He is. Repeating to our stressed out hearts as often as necessary what Scripture tells us about the Lord our God.

As our hearts become stabilized and strengthened, then we can seek Godly counsel about what our next steps to be. Having trustworthy people in our lives is such a source of strengthening support, just like the buttresses of mighty cathedrals! These are the ones who join us in asking God for direction…and then encouraging us to obedience. Most specifically, we can follow David’s example in going to our Great High Priest - Christ is the way we access God to ask for help and wisdom and strength. We don’t have to go through an earthly priest - Jesus is our way to the Father. God’s path for us in distress may not be easy - likely it will call for courage - but it will always be the way of righteousness and will include the right treatment of others , just as it was for David.

Times of desperation and distress and intense grief will come. That we can be sure of. But we can also be sure that God’s victory for us comes when we learn to strengthen ourselves in Him. Just like David.

Thoughts on "The Election"

I penned this post in 2016. I am scheduling it in early November 2024. The same truths are applicable now. Even before I know the outcome…..

Are you tired of hearing about "The Election"?

Me, too. 

Tired of hearing not only the pundits banter on and on about what it all means but also the everyday folks pontificate the ups and downs for our country come January.

Enough already.

This blog is not that at all. Not about why who won and who lost and what that says about the electorate and what ramifications we can expect.

Instead, I have some thoughts regarding the response of people to the election.  Specifically, the response of Christ-followers. For those that don't know Christ, they can act any way they please but
for those of us who profess to know Him, well, we don't have the right to act the way some of us are acting. Election or otherwise.


Let me begin with the admonition of James:


Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  James 1:20,21
 
As I've watched the behavior of my brothers and sisters before, during and after this election season, I have had lots of thoughts I wanted to spew, uh, share. It's not been that I didn't have some opinions - some strong ones, in fact.  But every time I started to blog it, I was restrained by these verses.
Be quick to hear.
Be slow to speak.
Be slow to anger.


So that's what I have tried to heed.


Doing so has helped me process things and  be prepared to walk as a child of the light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth  Ephesians 5:8,9


Maybe this will encourage you, too.


Be quick to hear.
Other people.  Listen to other people.  Not those who share your same views or convictions or party affiliation. Make it a priority to hear what the "other side" has to say. First. Before you speak,
I'll be honest - I didn't care for either presidential candidate. And I wanted to rant and rave about both of them, just like lots of folks around me. Before, during and after the votes were tallied.
Sometimes I did just that but more and more I found it most helpful not to do that. But rather to listen. First.
To hear the fears and the angst. To listen to the hopes and the heart. To be attentive to the feelings and opinions of people that differ from my own.


I learned a lot.


Be slow to speak.
I can only do this if I am busy listening in order to hear.
Too many times, we are not really hearing but rather just waiting for a break in the conversation so we can have our turn to speak.
Not helpful.
Being slow to speak is helpful. though. Slow to share what we think is so important. Slow to speak aloud the thoughts forming in our mind. Slow to vent the emotions that well up inside when we disagree with what we are hearing.


A lot of pain and brokenness could be avoided if we would be slow to speak. Sometimes our thoughts need to change before we release them into the air. And being slow to speak gives that process a chance to happen.


That's why I waited to blog about the election. I needed to be slow about speaking.


Be slow to anger.
The anger of Christians during this whole season has grieved me. And it has been widespread. From people who took all sorts of positions regarding this casting and tallying time.
Anger over who has been in charge.
Anger over who is going to be in charge.
Anger over whether or not we should even care who's in charge!
Anger directed at people for having a different opinion or goal.
Anger that accuses and divides and shatters.
Anger that is decried by Scripture because it does not achieve God's plan of righteousness (James 1:21) and in fact, is equated with murder. (Matthew 5:21,22)  Yes, murder.


Anger is so dangerous because it is rooted in pride. The mindset that says "my thoughts are so much  better and more important than yours that I insist you change yours to line up with mine". And when that doesn't happen, anger results.


So, given the admonition of James, what are my thoughts about how we should respond? Not my original thought but Chuck Swindoll expresses it so well in a sermon decades ago that I'll borrow it from him:
Nobody act big.
Nobody act small.
Everybody act medium.




Nobody act big.
Whatever your position on the election was or is, don't act big about it. In other words, don't be a jerk. Not smug if your side "won" or indignant if your side "lost" or self-righteous if you didn't take a side. Don't act as though you are better or more important than someone who differs from you.
Because you're not.
So zip your lips and act like a gracious winner/loser/spectator. Refer once more to James on the hearing and speaking part.



Nobody act small.
The fear reaction has been what has shocked me. Remember now, this post is for Christians.  I am not shocked by any reaction of non-Christians. But the fear from my fellow believers has positively shocked me. Don't we know who rules and reigns? Not the winner of any election! Gracious me!

The fear of what might happen now or what could be the fallout. Fear from remarks made by people around them and fear of potential perception. Are you kidding me? If the "losing side" had expressed such fear (or anger) in the previous elections, accusations of racism would have flown faster than a speeding bullet. But this time, the fear response is to be pitied and coddled, even seen as noble. Gracious me. We are not to fear!


So don't fear and don't fuel the fear of those around you, especially the children.
And while I am ranting about not acting small, that includes the smallness of prejudice and unkindness. Don't act that way.


Everybody act medium.
The definition of pride is not only thinking too much of yourself, it's also thinking of yourself too much. Self-focus. That's pride. Acting too big or too small - that's pride.
I would explain "acting medium" as Philippians 2:4 "Do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also the interests of others".  The perspective God wants us to have is certainly not arrogance but neither is it self-deprecation. This verse tells us that it is reasonable to look out after our own interests...just not at the exclusion of the interests of others. Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves..because, whether we admit it or not, whether we are aware of it or not, we do love ourselves. We protect our own hearts, our own interests, our own preferences and Scripture is exhorting us not to do so at the expense of others.
Act medium.
Not boastful or presumptuous or angry.
And not fearful or pathetic or weak.


And, as the prophet of Daniel did so long ago, let us bless the God of Heaven:
Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings (and presidents) and establishes kings (and presidents); He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with Him. To Thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise
Daniel 2:20-23