“True peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.” Alexander MacLaren
For those of you who are music aficionados, you’ve probably already noticed I’ve taken the liberty of modifying B. J. Thomas’ 1969 hit song title “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” for purposes of this post. If you’re unfamiliar with this song it’d be easy to think the song speaks about life from a negative viewpoint based solely on the title. But that’d be an incorrect assumption because the despondency of the title doesn’t reflect the song’s overall positive outlook as proclaimed by the oft repeated upbeat and hopeful lyric “it won’t be long till happiness steps up to greet me.”
Likewise, I was recently greeted by an unexpected, but wonderful reminder of the Lord’s enduring and kind presence during an unwelcome walk initiated by my dog on a cold, windy, and rainy night. When you gotta go, you gotta go, you know? So, I put on my hoodie, leashed up McCartney (yes, named after the Beatle!) and out the door I reluctantly went. And, yes, in anticipation of the foul weather awaiting us I grabbed an umbrella hoping it would provide at least some protection from the rain.
I have to say that zigzagging up and down our street while my pooch meticulously searches for that oh so perfect spot to do his business is not a favorite pastime of mine even in pleasant weather. As you might imagine, the soggy conditions like we were experiencing that evening only served to add more distress to my already discontented mood.
So there I was dutifully following McCartney back and forth about the neighborhood avoiding the deeper puddles as best I could, when suddenly my attention was diverted to the warm, soothing glow of the image of the cross cast upon the inside of my umbrella by the nearby street light. Instantly I was joyfully reminded of His certain, ongoing presence in my life and the gloom of the dreary night cheerfully faded away.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I don’t pretend to know what you’re going through right now, but I do know that whatever it is, He is there and has not forgotten about you, His beloved child. Having experienced my five year old startup company failing in September, 2022, I can personally attest to that overarching truth for He has been with my wife and I every step of the way before, during, and since that life-changing collapse. So, be encouraged to take your eyes off the storm raging around you, and instead look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2.)
Whenever we find ourselves worrying, our first action ought to be to get alone with God and worship Him…. We must realize that He is big enough to solve our problems. Warren Wiersbe
In and through these precious, life-giving words of scripture to follow, I pray you find the much needed faith, trust and hope you seek that only He can provide. May you securely rest in the comfort of His warm embrace knowing that even when it’s raining in your life, He reigns. Indeed, His dew drops of mercy are new every morning, a glorious and refreshing flood washing over us. Oh, my friend, what a Savior we have in Jesus!
The Lord appeared to us in the past,saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4 (NKJV)
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV)
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 (NKJV)
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NKJV)
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“Let it Rain (Live)” by Michael W. Smith from the album “Worship.”
“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NKJV)
Have you ever purposefully bought something you knew was defective? I never thought I’d find myself doing that, but that’s what happened a few days ago. And unexpectedly, there was Jesus wonderfully right in the middle of my conversation with the cashier about my improbable purchase.
If you read my last post, “Humilability,” then you already know I’ve had the Japanese art form known as Kintsugi on my mind. So much so that I decided I wanted to try my hand at it. I was in the process of buying something at the last minute for my art-venture when a “refreshing summer rain” moment of understanding in the checkout lane occurred.
Let me refresh your mind about Kintsugi before moving on with this story.
Kintsugi is a Japanese art form that takes shattered pottery and makes it whole by mending the broken pieces together with glue typically containing silver, gold, or platinum. Upon completion, the revitalized object becomes more valuable and desirable than it was initially. Those who follow this style of art delight in the object’s history as revealed by the repaired joints. In other words, the rejuvenated vessel tells a story of hope through its rebirth that is cause for much celebration.
Returning to the story, I had already bought everything I thought I needed for my project but still had one last stop to make for my wife before heading home. She had asked me to buy a clay pot, so I stopped by the local gardening center knowing they would have a good selection. While looking for just the right clay pot for her, I noticed a chipped and cracked one. As soon as I did, a light bulb immediately went off in my head, and I realized it’d be a great addition to my collection of Kintsugi project material. Why smash up something in perfect shape when I could break up something that was already flawed? So, I happily picked up the broken pot along with a good one for my wife and headed to the checkout lane.
After a short wait in line, I placed the two pots I wished to purchase on the counter. As the cashier scanned the items, she paused over the broken one and looked up at me with a questioning expression on her face.
Cashier: “Did you know this pot is broken?”
Me: “Yes.”
Cashier: “And you still want it?”
Me: “Yes, I have plans for it.”
No sooner had those words been said when a spiritual sonic boom stirred my soul, recrystallizing the reality of a precious gift I far too often fail to acknowledge and cherish rightly. Indeed, just as I had plans for the broken pot, how much more so does Jesus have plans for broken me?
“For I know theplans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)
There is a huge difference, of course, in the method of payment for these items. Jesus purchased me with His life, while all I did was hand over a few dollars for the flowerpot. He gave all, I gave little.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13 (NKJV)
Before I stepped into the picture, the trash heap was that defective clay pot’s only future where it would join countless other items also considered worthless and of no use. However, the funny thing now is it sits next to me on my bookshelf in plain sight as a treasured reminder of where I’d be right now without Jesus. There now was no way I was going to bust it up as I had initially planned after being gifted with such a beautiful flash of insight. God has such a wholly (holy!) excellent way of turning my thoughts and plans upside down, you know?
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)
How did this broken pot land in a position of honor in my office instead of lost in a landfill? Simply put, I had plans for it where no one else did and was then willing and able to do something about it. That is the sole reason this little clay pot has a new home beside me.
“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (NKJV)
As a believer, the soul (yes, that’s purposeful spelling on my part) reason I now have an eternal future overflowing with hope is that Jesus saw my need and was willing and able to do something about it.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 (NKJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;’” Luke 4:18 (NKJV)
He put my brokenness, my chips, if you will, on His shoulders at great cost to Himself. And He’s done the same for you.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)
What are the Lord’s plans for you, my brother and sister in Christ, and for me? He has prepared a place of honor for us with Him.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:3 (NKJV)
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2 (NKJV)
But there’s more, so much more. It’s beyond astonishing when you think about it!
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29 (NKJV)
Have you sincerely thanked God today for His active presence in your life, for the priceless gift of rebirth out of brokenness He has bestowed upon you through His Son, our Savior, Jesus?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Come to the Table by Sidewalk Prophets from the album “Something Different.”
-the ability to employ selfless compassion and empathy for others as a grateful expression of God’s love.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Matthew 12:30-31 (NKJV)
One need look no further than a cat frantically chasing a laser pointer’s wildly zigzagging dot skimming across the floor for visual confirmation that motion attracts attention like little else. After all, movement is typically associated with life, which, as we all know, is the ultimate visual attention-getter.
A few mornings ago, a familiar and friendly sight enticingly beckoned me to come nearer for a closer look. Just as it did a few years earlier, a solitary movement tantalizingly framed within a multitude of stillness captivated my attention. No way could the cat in me walk away, then or now.
As I drew closer, much to my curiosity’s delight, I realized that the movement I was observing was wonderfully unique from what I had previously experienced and written about a few years ago in per sway-dead or per sway-did. Instead of an entire plant moving to the beat of the faint wind as it happened then, this time, however, the motion radiated from a single blade of tall grass that, upon closer examination, revealed an unexpected and intriguing feature.
What was so surprising about this lone blade of dancing grass? In a word: brokenness. The stalk was broken and bent about two-thirds of the way up. This imperfection resulted in a visually compelling motion resembling bowing at the waist whenever the slightest whisper of a breeze stirred the air.
Curiously a nearby similarly broken blade remained fixed and unmoving. Hmmmm. It’s fair to say that, yes, where this motion was concerned, the break was essential, but it was also apparent that the location played a pivotal role, as well. If this were not so, then clearly, both broken blades standing so close to each other would have exhibited motion rather than just the one.
I find the irony so captivating here that the motion catching my eye emanated from something broken and flawed. As we all know, the world is not particularly kind regarding things judged damaged or not measuring up. The truth is it can be downright cold and cruel towards anything it perceives as not rising to its standards of desirability or perfection. But, take heart, friend, because the good news for all of us “less-than” sorts is that the Lord has an entirely different perspective than the world does.
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;” 1 Corinthians 1:27 (NKJV)
Each of us has experienced brokenness in our lives. Some more, some less, but the bottom line is we are all broken in some way. The worldly method of handling our damages is to try and hide them by pushing them out of sight. Essentially we attempt to avoid attention by immobilizing or disguising those damaged areas of our lives in hopes of blending in with everyone else. “It’s the safe thing to do,” says our ego, which quickly tries to seal the deal on that thought by adding, “Trust me because I know what’s best for you.”
To reveal our brokenness to the world exposes our weaknesses, and who wants to do that knowing we’ll most likely become the object of ridicule at the very least? So, we go into stealth mode, closing and locking the door tightly behind us as best and as fast as possible.
Sadly, when we go into hiding, we subject the world and ourselves to yet another day of being held captive by shame and fear. This thinking is in direct opposition to our calling as God’s children, however. As believers, we’re called to more, so much more than being invisible.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)
It’s time, brothers and sisters, to step out of the dark and into His light. We need to embrace the life-changing potential that sincere, godly humility offers to the imprisoned and isolated of this world and to ourselves along the way.
“Think not that humility is weakness; it shall supply the marrow of strength to thy bones. Stoop and conquer; bow thyself and become invincible.” Charles Spurgeon
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)
Humility is the ability to generously apply a mending salve of compassion and understanding to the world’s endless sea of walking wounded. It finds its beginning in the refining fires of our healing and restoration. It is not man contrived false humility that focuses on self, mind you. No! Genuine humility gives up the steering wheel to God and climbs cheerfully into the back seat so that someone else can sit in the front seat. Oh, and just in case you’re asking, “Are we there yet?” there’s nothing to worry about; God will tell you every time whenever you’re there. He is, after all, the Driver and the GPS, so sit back and pay close attention to what’s going on around you because it’s likely you’ll come upon another weary soul in need of what the Lord can offer them through you now that you’re not the driver.
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 (NKJV)
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 (NKJV)
Jesus has shown us the way forward, of course.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (NKJV)
Like the blade of grass bends in the slightest presence of the wind, the humble heart also gratefully bows at the very thought of the healing, mercy, grace, and love it has received from the Lord. In doing so, such a heart rightfully honors the Deliverer and His intentions regarding other’s needs, all the while trumpeting they’re a part of a much larger and grander story.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NKJV)
“Rare are those men or women who have glimpsed God and whose insights transform others ever afterward. They wrestle with their humanity in a way that helps others wrestle with theirs. They give freely of what they know with contagious joy.” Stephen Mansfield
I can’t help but think of that familiar saying attributed to John Bradford back in the 1600s, “There but for the grace of God, go I,” uttered while he was watching a group of prisoners pass by on their way to their executions. When it comes to our own lives, who among us can honestly testify any differently about our rescue by the Lord’s hand? Indeed, humility worn properly is a garment of incalculable worth lovingly stitched together by His nail-scarred hands with the threads of God’s love, mercy, and grace. It rightly honors and glorifies God.
“Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” Luke 8:39 (NKJV)
“who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” 2 Timothy 1:9 (NKJV)
Is it not pride driven by what others might think of us that keeps us from sharing with others who are hurting the comfort and provision God has generously bestowed upon us in our times of need? Delivered from our captivity and now safe in His embrace, where is our compassion for distressed and weary people? Or, perhaps our once grateful heart has grown selfishly cold and turned a blind eye? Considering all He has done for us, how can we as believers remain stoically detached and motionless in the face of the suffocating darkness others confront?
“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 1 John 3:16 (NKJV)
Humilability flows freely from the heart of Jesus to you and then through you to others. It recognizes this isn’t about you; it’s very much about the other person.
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. “ Philippians 2:3 (NKJV)
A humility-led person walks a mile beside a wounded soul trudging up a seemingly impossibly steep hill in their worn, tear-stained shoes and does so silently if that’s what’s needed. Only when the time is right is the silence broken, saying, “Friend, you’re not alone. I know something about what you’re going through because I’ve been there, too.“ Truthfully, who better to offer much-needed compassion and understanding to a person dealing with heartache than one who has experienced not only similar pain but Jesus’s subsequent rescue?
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (NIV)
In Japan, there is an art form known as Kintsugi in which shattered pottery is made whole by mending the broken pieces back together with glue typically containing silver, gold, or platinum. Upon completion, the revitalized object becomes more valuable and desirable than it was initially. Those who follow this art form delight in the object’s history as revealed by the repaired joints. In other words, the rejuvenated vessel tells a story that is worthy of celebration.
Like a Kintsugi vase, our mended brokenness, our scars, also tell an extraordinary story of redemption if we will but give them a voice. It’s a remarkable testimony of rebirth that lifts the name of Jesus, our Healer, our Savior, high for all to see.
Consumed by brokenness, do we become lifeless and distant from God like the static, unmoving grass, or do we embrace life by bowing before Him in grateful recognition and trust in honor of what He has done and will do with our brokenness? Our ability to exercise humility steps forward by acknowledging the One who has healed us, for you see, only He can speak life into and through our brokenness. How will you respond to His whisper? Which broken blade of grass will you be?
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5 (NKJV)
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
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“Scars” by I Am They from the album “Trial and Triumph.”
ONE's upon my time 