Well, today
I finished reading the entire Bible in a year for the thirtieth year. Sounds
pretty spiritual doesn’t it? Not really. I’m a desperate man, desperately in
need of a Savior, and desperate to hear from God on a daily basis. No matter
what happens in life: to claim His promises, accept and learn from His chiding,
be encouraged and comforted, be loved and love, and most of all live in the
faith of affirmations that Jesus is sovereign and with me through it all. And
through it all He is meeting my needs.
I’ve always
been somewhat of a simple man; yet a spiritually needy (poor in spirit) and a fully
human man with imperfections, shortsightedness, faults, regrets, bias’s,
opinions, distrusts, wavering’s, emotional ups and downs, and one who is
constantly fighting his own demons and often feeling defeated.
But one
thing I do know and am learning is that God loves me as I am, not as I should
be. If He did love me as I should be, that would be conditional love. I’m also
learning to finally treat people the way I want to be treated…loving all
without judgment. I’m understanding Jesus more and more when He said, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge
the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17
2015 has
been one of the hardest years of my life. Stripped of everything. Financial
ruin. Family turmoil. Seasons of hopelessness and despair, loneliness and
depression, physical anomalies, abnormal stresses and anxiety, humiliation,
worry, and a term I coined…mind fog. Yet I hold on to Jesus. When I am naked
before God, I come to the realization that I must clothe myself with the
garment (the presence) of Jesus Christ. (Romans 13:14) And there is no better
way to live in His presence than to be a student of His Word (in prayer and
meditation), and allow it to do its work in my being and through my lifestyle.
THE SNAPSHOT
Early in
November, I read an interesting passage from the book of Job. Now I’m not
saying I am anywhere near the man of God that Job was, but suffice it to say,
on many levels I can relate.
Job 6:8-13 “Oh, that I might have my request, that God
would grant my desire. I wish he would
crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me. At least I can take comfort in this: Despite
the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 11 But I don’t have the
strength to endure. I have nothing to live for.
Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of bronze? No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance
of success.”
When I read
this passage again, God reminded me of something He showed me years ago. “You
feel this way right now as Job did then, but Chapter 42 hadn’t been written when Job felt that way…stop looking
at the snapshot of your life when I possess the big picture of your life. And today,
like Job, I can say with all integrity: “But
as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at
last.” Job 19:25
One of my
favorite authors, Brennan Manning, wrote: “Nothing
can harm you permanently, no suffering is irrevocable, no loss is lasting, no
defeat is more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Jesus did not
deny the reality of suffering, discouragement, disappointment, frustration and
death; he simply stated that the kingdom of God would conquer all of these
horrors, that the Father’s love is so prodigal that no evil could possibly
resist it.”
THE BIG PICTURE
CHAPTER 42
Job 42:12 “So the
Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the
beginning.” This is what Job could not fathom in Job 6.
Each moment
of each day is the gift of a snapshot…whether blurred or focused, it’s only a
snapshot. I can’t live in the future because God is the only One who holds
those keys. To live life’s journey in the Big Picture is where ruthless trust
abides as I trust in Him to unlock the doors to my future.
So yes…2016
will be another year to read through the Bible in a year and live life to the
fullest in the Snapshots while ruthlessly trusting my Savior for the Big
Picture.
