Not my Will

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Encouragement today from the precious reminder of our Savior’s wrestling in prayer with the emotions and limitations of His humanity as He approached the cross, and the gentle exhortation that all the Father requires is a willing heart. If we can pray through the pain, and continue to desire God’s will above our own, that is enough. We should not be too hard on ourselves for having either questions or weakness, as long as we are carrying them rightly to His feet. And He will pour out His own strength to carry us through whatever we are facing– even comfort us with His love, so that we do not lose hope.

The nineteenth-century British theologian E.B Pusey advised believers to have a one-prayer-fits-all approach to life. “Choose but the will of God, and thou willest with His wisdom, thou choosest with His all-perfect choice; thou enterest into His counsels; thou lovest with His love….This shall hallow our hopes; this shall hush our fears; this shall ward off disquiet; this shall preserve our peace; this shall calm anxieties; this (if it must be) shall soothe our heart-aches; this shall give repose to our weariness…. ‘Lord, not what I will, but what Thou’… in Thy mercy, and holiness, and wisdom, and love.”

It is the prayer that never fails. A prayer I can claim for myself, for my church, for my family in the New Year. Lord, give me a trusting heart that can pray this in every situation we will face, with confidence that You are orchestrating all things for our good and Your own glory.

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Oh how I need Your grace,
More than my words can say;
Jesus I come, Jesus I come
In all my weaknesses,
You are my confidence;
Jesus I come, Jesus I come.

Jesus I Come, Elevation Worship

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The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

Some Angels Only Whisper

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She holds onto hope, there among the branches, her painted face smiling brave, and wings out-stretched. (Here at the beginning of Winter…as the Christmas season launches headlong into its race to be bigger, do more, shine brighter… as one year crosses out its last days and another looms large ahead.) I put her carefully into the tree full of angels, and nod to her silent message: there is Hope for every longing heart. For God Himself has come down to us, and the world cannot ever be the same again.

I have held onto the bare branches of Winter and searched hard for Hope; listened long through the night for answers that never seemed to come; looked at the blank expanse of a new year with nothing but dread at its enormity. And the lights on the tree shine through the window like little beacons lighting the way. The beauty of this Season calls to the spirit, somehow– whispers what we are straining to hear all year long– that there is magic in this old world, something More than what we see and touch, something of eternal value and immense meaning hidden behind the glittery trappings. And the angel holds out hope in her hands: “See, the Sovereign Lord comes….He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:10-11)

But this season of frantic Joy to The World can grind you down to weariness, take away every last shred of peace if you are not looking for the One who brings it. Ironic, isn’t it, that the very way we celebrate the birth of the Savior only serves to underline our need for deliverance. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah seven hundred years ahead of time to reassure us about His coming: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice…” (Isaiah 42:3) The Creator stoops to our need, bends to lift up a fragile broken world and make it new with His own flesh-and-blood hands. There is help for the burdens we carry, and hope for restoration of every crazy situation we face; the future may be unknown to us, but it is not so to Him, and He will bring justice (in the old-fashioned sense of protecting the innocent and vulnerable, and righting of wrongs). The words of the old hymn resound, “Fear not to trust my mighty arm; it brought salvation down.” (JW Howe) 

The angels who filled the sky over Bethlehem shouted until they shook the heavens, and I am sure it was magnificent and glorious when they announced Jesus’ birth, but I have always been drawn to the laments of the prophets, waiting for God’s promises to come true and reminding God’s people of His faithfulness. Thus saith the Lord…“By Myself I have sworn, My mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before Me every knee will bow; by Me every tongue will swear. They will say of Me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’” (Isaiah 45:23-24) This is a solid Hope to hold onto, a compass point to steer by so we don’t get lost amid the shopping and baking and partying; this is the depth of meaning that underlies every sparkle of Christmas. God is with us, and He is for us– if you listen you can hear the angels: “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)

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” So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

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“He has come for us, this Jesus
He’s the hope for all mankind
He has come for us, The Messiah,
Born to give us life…”
(Jason Ingram and Meredith Andrews, He Has Come For Us)

This is Christmas

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To women with aching hearts, praying through the night,
And fathers watching long for prodigals,
The prophet speaks Comfort:
“Comfort My people….make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” 

To every home that has an extra room, waiting to be filled,
And every heart that needs a place to belong,
The angels sing Peace:
“He makes beautiful things out of the dust.”

To the sheep who have lost their way and perhaps their hope as well–
To all of us who need a fresh start,
The messenger says Jesus:
“He will save His people from their sins.”

Christmas is foremost the story of God fulfilling His promises to make all things new, announcing “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) Envy the prophet Isaiah, given the Good News to proclaim that the time has finally come: “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed….Here is your God!” (Isaiah 40:2,9)

At Christmas God answers the waiting centuries with His “Yes!” Whispered in the dark stable, blazing overhead in the constellations, weaving music in the wind over the rocky hills of Judea, passed from mouth to mouth on dusty roads by faceless nameless travelers: “For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6-7) 

This Christmas the money we spend and the lights we drape could make us forget for a while that we are only dust underneath, and all the gaiety and greetings might cover up the howl of the ages: “Meaningless, all is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 12:8) But if we dig deep beneath all the distractions and see God’s “yes” of Mercy and Grace at the heart of the season, we will find a more real and sober Christmas, something solid and true and everlastingly beautiful. This is Christmas in its essence: that Someone sees us, Someone hears us, and Someone came to find us.

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All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You
You make beautiful things…
You make beautiful things out of the dust.
You make beautiful things…
You make beautiful things out of us

Gungor, You Make Beautiful Things

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A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

Isaiah 40:3-5

All These Impossible Things

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Every year when I read the Christmas Story from Luke’s account, I linger over this one sentence that seems so oddly placed: “For nothing shall be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) That the angel should give such a sweeping universal pronouncement in the middle of back-to-back baby announcements seems oddly dramatic. But for these women whose lives are about to be abruptly re-written, it is not only a clarion call of restoration for the world, but an assurance straight to their hearts.

To the older woman married for years, already resigned to life as it is, her dreams wrestled into silence years ago, the Word of the Lord comes. To the young woman still in her father’s house, with her whole life out in front of her, the Word of the Lord comes. To each the impossible message from the Lord is given– intimate, unexpected, and marvelous. To each the terrifying challenge is given to reach out and grow into new places. I can’t help but think that the angel laughed at the ridiculous joy of his news. The Almighty One stoops to enter the ordinary, the everyday blood and body of a woman…and there are no more barriers between the holy and the mundane, between what is possible and what is not. God will Himself accomplish His purposes in hearts that are willing, and our lives will no longer be limited to what we can see and touch and make sense of. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19) Something new in the ordinary endless dust of our Everyday.

And to us also, the angel’s message comes at Christmas for all the impossible circumstances we live with. For the bad habits we are trying hard to break; for the complicated relationships that we keep trying to fix; for the ways we cope and cover up and distract from what really matters; for the fragility of these bodies and spirits, and the dark fears that creep at night– for all these, the joyful song blows on the wind: Nothing shall be impossible from now on, because your Maker has come! In all the hard rocky ways we limp through this world, and the griefs that weigh heavy, still there is this announcement that everything can change. And we sing in reply, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her King!” We may not see the fulfillment of His plans just yet, but the Almighty One sees us and has come to help, and nothing is truly impossible any more.

Nothing shall be impossible because He is at work, and who can stop Him? Nothing shall be impossible….“for those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14) Nothing shall be impossible…. for “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28) Nothing shall be impossible….for “he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.” (Romans 8:11) Nothing shall be impossible….“for we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:32)

For all our impossible things, a Savior was born on a night long ago in Bethlehem. “O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”

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The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”

Isaiah 57:15

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There is no place I can go
Where you don’t already know
How to reach right down and pull me out
I need you…

There is no fight left
On the inside
But maybe that’s where I should be
I’ve given up tryin’
I’m giving it all to you.

No Fight Left, JJ Heller

Promises, Promises

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I keep hearing the deejays say on the radio that “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”  But that’s all they are promising, and given the news headlines, I wonder if they are trying to convince us, or themselves. And it’s only a few days into December, and already moms are looking a little wild-eyed at the shopping and the decorating and the parties of Christmas. The calendar promises a regular holiday whirlwind that might distract from the real-life reports from the doctor, and the daily work pressures, and the loneliness; but we all know how those sit heavy on our hearts, at the end of the day.

To be honest, some years it is hard to get excited about the season, and some years it feels like I am decorating this evergreen tree by faith, stepping out into Celebration when my heart hasn’t quite caught up yet. But I do it anyway. Because the only promise that matters was fulfilled right before our eyes on Christmas: the Babe is born into our dirt and noise, and He will save us from our sin.

It’s the oldest promise in the Book, the one that comes right after Adam and Eve wrecked the world, and it comes veiled in the figurative language of prophecy. I feel sure that our first parents had no idea it would take so long to be fulfilled, but they lived in faith that it would come at the right time. And weren’t all the generations since, just building their lives on faith? From Sarah who birthed her promised son at the ripe old age of ninety and laughed at the sheer ridiculous wonder of it, right down to Anna who spent her solitary life camped out on the doorstep of the House of the Lord, praying and waiting for the Anointed One.

Isaiah sings out the promise most clearly: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) The angel messenger carries the promise to a young girl in her parents’ home, “…the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) And the angel armies in the skies above Bethlehem pick up the refrain, shouting it to the hilltops: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

We too lift our voices at Christmas, put up our trees to remember the promise, and we light them in full hope of God’s faithfulness.  “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

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Meanwhile, this grand primeval promise, ‘The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent,’ would stand out as a beacon-light to all mankind on their way, burning brighter and brighter, first in the promise to Shem, next in that to Abraham, then in the prophecy of Jacob, and so on through the types of the Law to the promises of the Prophets, till in the fullness of time ‘the Sun of Righteousness’ arose ‘with healing under His wings!‘

Alfred Edersheim

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And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.“

Revelation 21:3-4

On Choosing Celebration and Finding Joy

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Originally published April 21, 2012.

I am reading through Paul’s letter to the Philippians at night, in a thick hardbound edition of The Message.  I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul’s letters in fresh energetic language that jumps off the page with the sheer force of the writer’s personality.  I picture Paul a lot that way: colorful, energetic, passionate  and driven about his message to the point of being offensive at times….tact was clearly not his strong suit.  But then, when you are an itinerant preacher spreading the good news of salvation to the bulk of the civilized world in the first century, there are more pressing concerns than being “nice.”

I have been parked in chapter 4 for the past few nights.  The middle of that chapter is one of my very favorite “how to live” passages of Scripture anyway, but this week I have been captivated by the way Peterson phrases it: “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! “  I can picture PauI leaning forward, eyes alight.  His is the voice of experience– in a life without any of the comforts we prefer on a daily basis, he has discovered an ever-flowing fountain of joy, and urges his readers to search it out. Revel in God and there will be no more room for self-pity, or despair, or even run-of-the-mill grumpiness on general principles.  Celebrate the infinite God and you’ll never run out of joy, never come to the end of Him.

We are used to following our feelings, paying attention to them and letting them move us through life…it is the pattern of this world that we have conformed to since birth.  Has it never occurred to us that a woman’s hurt feelings are what got us into this mess to begin with?  And the more we follow our feelings the more mixed up our minds get.  What a surprise to Self to discover that God is far more concerned with our obedience than with our comfort.

No wonder most of Scripture’s practical how-to passages are teaching us how to stop listening to the feelings of Self and instead listen to the Spirit of God…how to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.  Think first, choose how to respond, then act in a way that pleases God, and the feelings will follow.

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” 

Philippians 4:6-7

I come back to this over and over, transfixed by that last line.  When I follow my feelings– focus on them and act out of them– I am putting them at the center of my life, letting them control me.  Worry?  Discouragement?  Fear?  Anger?  No good can come from following where they lead.

Choose to do this instead, Paul says… choose to offer up those feelings to the One who made them and put Him in the center of your life where He belongs.  Do this… choose this…it’s an act of the will, an act of obedience.  Let your mind be transformed by Jesus and lead you to what is right, and let the feelings tag along behind.  Paul even leaves me pointers on what to think about if I want a transformed mind– if I want to follow Christ instead of these tyrants of emotion: “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” (Philippians 4:8)

Simply put, I live best when I fill my mind with God’s truth… all He has done for me, all that He is… thankfulness and praise taking the lead.  It’s an every day kind of choice, and some days every minute.  So I keep coming back to Paul’s letter to the Philippians, soaking the reminders in, deep down to the heart.   It’s the best prescription there is for getting emotions back on track.

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Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

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Better is a moment that I spend with You
Than a million other days away
I’m running, I’m running
I’m running to the secret place
Hands are lifted high, hearts awake to life
We are satisfied here with You, here with You
Chains will hit the floor, broken lives restored
We couldn’t ask for more here with You, here with You

The Secret Place, Phil Wickham

Faith for Whatever Lies Ahead

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In this world of so many things gone wrong that we cannot fix, uncertain outcomes, unpredictable circumstances, sometimes all you want is assurances to hang onto. Super-powers would be nice, but I would settle for a burning bush, or fiery chariots, or a shepherd’s rod that can turn into a snake. In our small group we sometimes joke about how neon signs would be helpful when we go looking for direction and assurance, but the joking is just a cover-up for a little bit of frustration and a very real fear that we might get left on our own.  

I think how I might cheerfully throw myself at new under-takings, could bravely face the unknown, if I only had a fleece like Gideon did, letting me know for sure that God’s power was overshadowing me and everything would turn out well. But then I realize how crazy that sounds, because I have seen a fleece in real life: a shaggy, raggedy thing of indeterminate color, and smelling to high heaven when wet. Gideon’s confidence-booster was not very impressive when you take a good look at it– no more significant than any of the things I might hang onto as divine signposts, and isn’t it funny how seriously we wish for them to help us out? Especially when Jesus says to Gideon and to us, “I will be with you….I will stay…” (Judges 6:16,18) Shouldn’t the promise of the Almighty be sufficient?

When I really think about it, what made the fleece significant was the concrete evidence of God living and active, reaching down into the gritty everyday details of a farmer’s life. Because that is what Gideon needed to know most of all– that he was not alone and that there was a God who could work in the many situations Gideon could not control….things like where the dew fell… and who lived and died…and the future of his family. Isn’t that what we all need to know, when it comes right down to it? No wonder we are so keen about that smelly bit of wool.

God was very patient with Gideon’s need to see with his own eyes, touch the wet wool with his own fingers, smell the evidence of divine power with his own nose. But then, Gideon was just meeting the Almighty for the first time, had nothing but old stories handed down through generations to inform his faith. And I hold the God-breathed record in my hands, the revelation of who God Is, the inked words of the Word coming in flesh, and I feel ashamed.

Why do I sometimes think it would be easier to understand a piece of wool or wood or weather for answers (just because I can touch them and see them) rather than God Himself? If I cannot put my trust in God’s assurances, cannot trust the Spirit who has made His habitation with me, then isn’t looking elsewhere just a fancy word for idolatry? And why would I expect God to indulge my desire for control, especially when it is only an illusion after all? Granted, there is a learning curve in following the Spirit’s leading, and God is still very patient, but sometimes I just need to step out and act on what He has already said, and trust Him for the outcome.

Interestingly, when Gideon saw God face to face, he named Him Jehovah-shalom…The Lord is Peace. There was an old superstition that to see the face of God meant certain death, so when Gideon realized that it was the Lord Himself who had come to visit him, he was sure it was all over. The Lord is Peace came from his relief that God intended good, not ill, for him. That is what stood out to Gideon about the whole encounter. But after the fact, when he was neck-deep in the logistics of leading an army of beaten-down farmers against a superior foe, when the memory of Voice and Fire had blurred at the edges, he needed to know for sure that the calling was true, and the power was real, and the Presence remained.

So he pulled out that raggedy fleece and laid it out under the stars, begging God to do all the things he could not, in this very real, very uncertain world; I’m not sure which is more remarkable, that the farmer trusted enough to ask for yet another sign, or that God stooped to touch his dirty rags, or that the Lord’s promise to His people still rings out clear through the centuries: “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Because this is still what we need to know most of all, and God still bends to assure us of His presence: His presence is peace, and He is good, and He is with us. “…Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) No temporary fleece, but a blazing Presence in our hearts, the Living One who is able to control all the things we care about most and are unable to change. “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'” (2 Corinthians 6:16)  What more do we need?

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If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

James 1:5-8

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We assume favor with God means all the details of life fall simply into place. A comfortable life equals achieving insider status. But more than knowing how the future will look, God desires relationship. He knows your name and you have this assurance: ‘My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.’

Become certain that you are loved, and life is a secure adventure into uncertainty.

Shelly Miller

Feeling The Need

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So I am really trying to live in the Truth that God is enough, this week. When the needs are real and the resources fall short, no matter how I try to rearrange them, I am praying for God’s supply and trusting that it will come. Honestly I am, and I have been telling people that He will provide, so as to be held accountable for my faith…even though part of me whispers that it would be safer not to make that public, just in case. It’s sad how unbelief clings to the soul like the cobweb remains of the grave. But I keep brushing it free and trying to stand in the light of what I know.

Some days I feel like Elijah, hiding out in the middle of nowhere by the brook Kerith, watching it dry up bit by bit and wondering if the scavenger birds will bring him anything today, and when this experiment will end.* What can you expect of wild birds, after all? And how much is too much to expect from God’s hand, when you don’t even know where He is going with this? If it were up to me, I would fill this need right now and move on with the plan, so clearly our goals are not the same here. (Times like this remind you just how far outside of Creation He is…actually something Other.) I’m trying to trust that His goals are the important ones.

And when I toss and turn at night under a growing weight of dread, I hold on with both hands to Who He Is and what He has promised, even while my brain sorts through ideas and options and keeps coming up blank. Like the ravens’ gifts, His provision will be just what is needed for this day, at the correct time. I keep reminding myself and others that He has met our needs countless times before, and often at the last minute. What I need is eyes to recognize it when it comes, and the patience to wait. I’m getting better. Maybe someday I can even do it very peacefully.

*Read Elijah’s story in 1 Kings 17.

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You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.

Isaiah 26:3

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‘Who so hearkeneth unto me,’ He says, ‘shall dwell safely; and shall be quiet from fear of evil.’ And this is a statement that no one dare question. If we would really hearken unto God, which means not only hearing Him, but believing what we hear, we could not fail to know that, just because He is God, He cannot do other than care for us as He cares for the apple of His eye; and that all that tender love and divine wisdom can do for our welfare, must be and will be unfailingly done. Not a single loophole for worry or fear is left to the soul that knows God.

Hannah Whitall Smith

Simply Trusting

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For all those things that are outside our circle of influence, let there be this word of encouragement today, that we can trust the One who holds everything in His hands. “The God Who lives forever is the Lord, the One Who made the ends of the earth. He will not become weak or tired. His understanding is too great for us to begin to know.” (Isaiah 40:28)

 He’s got this. You can rest in His love: “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17) Be still, and listen to Him singing.

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If I believe in God, in a Being who made me, and fashioned me, and knows my wants and capacities and necessities, because He gave them to me, and who is perfectly good and loving, righteous, and perfectly wise and powerful– whatever my circumstances inward or outward may be, however thick the darkness which encompasses me– I yet can trust, yea, be assured, that all will be well, that He can draw light out of darkness, and make crooked things straight.

Thomas Erskine

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And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness–secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the One who calls you by name.

Isaiah 45:3

Follow the Leader

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I don’t know about you, but my emotions are usually the first to respond to a situation, and the last to catch on to what is actually true.  That’s why it’s best not to let them lead.

There are a million voices that would argue that point loudly, from celebrities to coaches to social influencers and politicians– that’s one thing almost everyone seems to agree on, that we should ignore our heads and follow our hearts wherever they lead. I suppose it would be the natural conclusion, if deep inside yourself is the agreed-upon place to look for truth and meaning in this world. Seems like a lot of Christ-followers get pulled into the blinding light of that sun, until even their faith journey takes on a strangely Self-tinged relativistic hue. Life is deeper and richer because of our emotions, and it seems only natural to follow where those powerful tides pull us, right?

But a long time ago a wise man told me that your ability to do the right thing depends on choosing to do it regardless of how you feel. Let reason and faith inform your will, and bend that will in surrender to God, and the emotions will trail along behind until they gradually fall in line. Unfortunately, he neglected to mention how fiercely said emotions would make themselves known….or what a battle it would be to consistently choose what is right against the tide of feeling….and how wearing a mask to show the right things on the outside is not the same thing as truly choosing…but that is another story altogether. He knew what he was talking about, that emotions are not secure footing for a life, and there is Truth that will not lead you wrong.

You have to know what voices to listen to, know what can lead you well, if you want a good outcome. The Wise King agrees that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) Jesus put it in the form of a story that anyone could understand, that a wise person listened and built his life on God’s truth, and all the storms of life couldn’t knock him down. If the foolish man built on shifting sands, he had only himself to blame when everything fell apart. And still, this lesson is taking a lifetime to learn.

I have to remind myself over and over again: My feelings about a thing do not determine whether it is right or wrong…or even if it is real. My feelings are not the best informant on the value of something, or the wisdom or health of a decision. My feelings are a gift for me to steward, given by the Creator because He values relationship. My feelings are part of who He made me to be, but like every other part, they need to be re-shaped day by day by His Spirit living in me. And He is big enough to handle all the wayward emotions in me, without alarm or reproach. The One who directs my steps and gives me Truth to stand on is the same One who knows every word before I say it, sees my deepest heart, and catches every tear that falls. “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” (Psalm 139:5-6)

I find that choosing to give thanks reminds me where to look and who to listen to, as if gratitude were a compass on this Faith-journey. .Praise is an anchor that re-orients my heart to the firm footing of His Truth. And when you are lost in a sea of emotions, it is trusting God and accepting what He gives you that brings clarity to swirling thoughts, and calms the storm.  A sister-mentor reminds “No one receives the peace of God without giving thanks to God.” (Ann VosKamp)

The myriad voices of this world might call for us to follow our hearts, no matter in what winding ways they lead. But Jesus is calling us to take up our cross and follow Him, and His is the narrow way that leads us straight Home. We can choose to take the next right step, choose to give thanks, and let the emotions find their safe place in Him.

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Even when my strength is lost,
I’ll praise You.
Even when I have no song,
I’ll praise You.
Even when it’s hard to find the words–
Louder then I’ll sing Your praise…
I will only sing Your praise….

And my heart burns only for You–
You are all, You are all I want,
And my soul waits only for You;
And I will sing till the morning has come.

Even When It Hurts, Hillsong United

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6