Category Archives: Obedience

Trust Like a Tot

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It was God’s delightful idea to make miniature people and send them to bigger people to raise, a phenomenal plan. And he intends for us big people to learn a great deal from the little ones.

To be a child is to be something spectacular, a person who exhibits innocence, submission, trustfulness. These characteristics are especially true in one-year-olds. I’m privileged to have two of them among my grandchildren, Nicholas, from England, and Skylar, from Florida. And it’s been my joy for the last couple of weeks to have Skylar staying at my address. (This is a re-post from June, 2010.)

I’ve never known a more enthusiastic person than this one-year-old. She’s up for anything, which includes trying strange foods, meeting new people, petting any animal, and swimming in Lake Michigan. When others are hesitant, Skylar is eager.

DIGITAL IMAGEThe other day Klaus was enjoying Skylar at the beach, asking her if she wanted “to fly.” Of course she did, and he began throwing her as high as his arms could do it. She squealed with laughter, never doubting for an instant he’d catch her securely every time. Klaus ran out of energy long before Skylar ran out of wanting to be tossed.

The picture we snapped that day exemplifies perfect trust. Skylar’s face is devoid of worry, and she’s able to take pleasure in an event that actually has the potential to turn out badly for her. She knows how it feels to get splashed in the face or get water up her nose but isn’t thinking of those “what ifs.” Instead she’s trusting all things will work together for good. Have we heard that someplace before?

For those of us who are God’s children, our relationship with him is based on trusting him 100% without injecting doubt by unnecessary “what ifs.” We trust the Gospel to be true (see John 3:16) and strive to base our lives on trusting God the Father and Jesus the Son, one-on-one. But there’s the rub: we strive.

We think, “What if he looks away and doesn’t catch me? What if I plunge under water? What if he doesn’t act on time? What if he catches me but the landing hurts? What if I’m too heavy for him to hold me tight?”

Here’s a better what-if than all of those: “What if we could all trust God like one-year-olds trust us?”

We’d probably all know how to fly.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I praise The Lord for a relaxing weekend away from cities, noise and hospitals.
  2. Please pray for perseverance. I find myself dreading chemo-Mondays and Tuesdays more and more. Tomorrow is #7.

Talk to me.

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The brainWe all know God hears us when we pray. Scripture says he sees our requests as they’re forming in our brains, way ahead of their reaching our mouths. By the time the words are rolling off our tongues, he’s already got the whole paragraph.

These promises are from Isaiah 65, and in context God is (1) speaking to the children of Israel and (2) referring to our perfect existence in the New Heaven and Earth. But I view these verses not just for Israel but also for us, and not just future-distant but for now, based on God being immutable and absolute. What he promised for them, he can also do for us. And what he guarantees in the future, he can also do now.

God is today who he always has been.

Literally hundreds of us have been calling out to him to answer prayers concerning my sister Mary as she walks a road common to many: cancer, surgery, and chemo. (So far, radiation has not been recommended.) For a month we’ve been praying against the ravaging nausea most chemo patients experience, and this morning we learned God answered in the affirmative.

YesWe can rejoice that Mary reported no vomiting has taken place since her infusion yesterday, and only mild nausea has come and gone during the last 24 hours. This surely is God having said yes. He hasn’t told us why she suffered horrible nausea before, and he hasn’t promised she won’t again.

But for today, we can lift our hands and rejoice with Mary singing, “Thank you, Father!”

Prayer is mysterious, but one thing is certain. It is an interaction with The Almighty. Though he doesn’t give us all yeses, sometimes he does. Skeptics say, “You mean there’s no rhyme or reason to it? It’s just random? Why would you ascribe a lack of nausea to answered prayer?”

We have some very good reasons:

  • Because God says there is power in prayer.
  • Because God promises to listen to our prayers and answer them.
  • Because Jesus told his disciples to pray.
  • Because Jesus himself prayed.

And since we believe those 4 things, we continue to pray.

In the same biblical chapter quoted above, the Lord also reprimands those who choose not to talk to him through prayer. He says he had tried to engage his people in conversation, but unbelievably they weren’t interested. God said, “I called, but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen.” ( v. 12) And he follows that with some pretty harsh judgment over this group.

Today God is still calling all of us to communicate with him, and so we continue to pray for Mary and many others, because when he answers in the affirmative, he makes our hearts sing!

“Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m praising God for answered prayer about my nausea! Nothing but mild twinges this time, and I even ate dinner!
  2. The feeding tube continues to be a problem. Pray for an earlier date with the specialist.

Where to?

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Dorm roomThe writer’s conference is over, and I’m home, unpacked, and working to organize all the notes, books, handouts, and CDs accumulated during those inspirational 5 days.

As I drove the 112 miles from my house to Wheaton College last Tuesday, I spent some time talking to God about his purposes for the conference. “I’m not entirely sure why I’m going, Lord,” I said, “but I certainly felt you urging me to sign up. Where are you taking me? I’m anxious to know.”

On the first day, during the first meeting, our speaker gave a motivational talk, and it was as if she’d heard me in the car. She said, “Most of you aren’t sure what these next days will hold, and some of you aren’t sure why you even came. We’d all like to know right up front where God is taking us, but like Abraham of the Bible, he isn’t telling yet.”

She (and God) had my attention.

She cited Genesis 12:1 and God’s directive to Abraham. “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go…” Poor Abraham didn’t get the specifics, just like most of us attending the conference. But almost all of us had felt God’s instruction to go, just like Abraham .

MapOur speaker went on. “God didn’t let Abraham in on where he was taking him or what was awaiting him. Surely Abraham believed it was something good, or he wouldn’t have taken that big step of saying goodbye to his relatives, his occupation, his traditions, and all things familiar.

Or maybe he just knew enough about God to know it would be worth his while to follow him anywhere, even if he didn’t get to see the map. Those of us at the writer’s conference didn’t have to take the massive leap of faith Abraham did, but we did experience a mini-version of it, unsure of our end results.

???????????????????????????????Mary’s walk into cancer and its dreadful treatment is another example of God leading someone to whom he hasn’t shown the map. And so far, the journey has been difficult. Even so, Mary is in Abraham’s camp, knowing enough about God to believe it’ll be worth her while to follow him anywhere… even through surgery, chemotherapy, and beyond.

Our conference speaker ended her talk with a very encouraging word while still in Genesis 12:1. She said, “Just before Abraham left, God gave him a valuable piece of information, a sense of the map. He said, ‘Go… and I will show you’.”

Mary is on the way, and little by little, God will show her the map.

“He who calls you is faithful.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m praising God for so many people telling me today they’ll be praying tomorrow during my 4th infusion.
  2. Thankful also for a very full day, helping to keep my mind off tomorrow.
  3. Please pray for our appointment with a specialist tomorrow to investigate the pain caused by my feeding tube.
  4. Pray against the overwhelming nausea that seems to follow chemo.