Category Archives: Obedience

With Gusto

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The other day I was running errands and passed a small store that had some big enthusiasm out front. A teen girl dressed warm against the wintry temperatures was holding up a yard-wide poster that said, “CASH FOR GOLD!”

She wasn’t just holding it up. She was waving it back and forth in an effort to get the attention of passing cars. On top of that she was dancing, back and forth, up and down, side to side, spinning around, ear-buds enlivening her ears with upbeat music. Although I’d seen similar signs (which are called human billboards), I’d never seen such a lively one. I wondered if she had just started her shift or if she was just one exceptional employee.

All of us can remember projects or commitments we started with gusto but finished just-barely, if at all. Some were even in the spiritual realm. Who of us hasn’t committed to reading through the Bible in a year, only to get bogged down in Leviticus or Numbers? Maybe we made New Year’s resolutions to eat healthy but gave up in February, or started exercise programs that went defunct 4 weeks in.

What’s the key to following through with the things we say we’re going to do? It’s partly the character quality of perseverance, but absent that, it can also be sharing the same commitment with a like-minded friend, or asking someone else to hold us accountable. Even having an enthusiastic cheerleader on the sidelines is sometimes enough to make us follow through.

Scripture includes a verse that talks about cheerleaders. Hebrews 12:1 mentions “a great cloud of witnesses” watching the life races we’re running as believers in Christ. Scholars dispute who these witnesses are, but it’s clear somebody is watching, and most agree those somebodies are urging us on to do the best we can in this life.

I don’t know exactly who’s in that crowd, but I do know the name of one biblical cheerleader who is steadily encouraging us with gusto, whether standing in that group or off by himself: Jesus Christ. He’s watching us for signs of ever-growing faith in him while simultaneously doing something wonderful. He’s praying we won’t fail, or, put another way, praying we’ll succeed.

When I think of Jesus (and the others), and of having only one earthly lifetime to use for heavenly purposes, it makes me want to keep the commitments I’ve made and to do so with enthusiasm. Although I might not be able to dance while following through, I can certainly leap for joy inside my heart and my will, especially over the things God has directly assigned for me to do.

As for the CASH FOR GOLD girl, I think I’ve seen that same gusto someplace else:

“David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.” (2 Samuel 6:14-15)

Heavens of Brass

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Once in a while we hear Christians say, “When I pray, the heavens seem made of brass.” It’s an expression that comes out of the King James Version of Deuteronomy 28:23. God is comparing and contrasting obedience with disobedience, detailing the blessings that come with one and the curses with the other. In verse 23 he’s describing the curse of failing crops: “The heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.”

He’s telling them that if they refuse to obey, he won’t answer their prayers for rain. From this reference the phrase “heavens of brass” came to mean silence from God.

Most of us nod our heads, having experienced the frustration of unanswered prayer. Why would the Lord purposely withhold guidance? What valid reason could there be for such coldness toward us?

Actually, there are several:

  • When God seems cold, it’s then that we want to warm up to him.
  • When he’s silent, we call to him more frequently and with greater intensity.
  • When we can’t hear him, we listen more carefully for his still small voice.
  • When we aren’t getting his half of the conversation, we crave his counsel all the more and realize advice from others just isn’t good enough.

….all good things.

But what if we’re faced with a decision and he won’t tell us what to do? Are we supposed to just roll the dice or close our eyes and point? What do we do when the deadline is upon us and he hasn’t answered yet?

Sometimes I’m helped by thinking of God’s guidance like a GPS. I depend on “Lee’s” GPS voice to let me know which road decision to make, just before I get to the intersection. Key words? “Just before.”

God does that, too. He may be silent as a deadline looms, despite promising to direct us. We cry out for instruction, and it doesn’t come. “Which choice, Lord? Help!”

One of two things will happen. Either he’ll let us know exactly what to do in the nick of time, or he’ll expect us to make no new moves but to continue as we have been. With my GPS, Lee doesn’t say a word if I’m supposed to continue going straight. As my wise daughter Linnea says, “When you don’t know what to do, think back to the last time God put you on a specific path. Until you hear something different, stay put.”

God may get quiet for a time, but his heavens are never made of brass. He’s continually hearing us and is closer than we realize. And though we think he’s silent, he’s actually still speaking, inviting us to continue calling to him in expectancy, holding out hope that when the time is just right, we’ll hear from him.

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” (James 4:8)

Mending Mess-ups

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When I was 15, I pulled one too many pranks at summer camp and got sent home by the frustrated director. Although I was more than happy to get out from under his leadership at the time, I dreaded telling my parents what had happened, knowing they’d be angry with me.

The days that followed were full of tension as my folks laid out disciplinary restrictions, and worst of all, they made me apologize to the camp director for my bad behavior. Because he and his wife were friends of my parents, I had caused some significant embarrassment.

All of us mess up once in a while, or as in my case, more frequently. We misjudge situations, base our opinions on false information, act immaturely, or snap at people, all because we want our own way.

How does God feel when we act like this? Surely he’s disappointed, disgusted, even angry. But I have a hunch he holds out hope that with enough mess-ups, we’ll learn how to do better next time. One thing is sure: he doesn’t love us any less when we behave badly. Scripture uses the words “unfailing love” over 40 times to describe the way God loves us. This kind of love is trustworthy, consistent, and sure. And best of all, our mess-ups can’t possibly erode it.

My former camp director and I eventually bumped into each other many years after he sent me home… 47 years, to be exact. Truth be told, I’d felt badly about my behavior those many years and was grateful for the chance to mend the relationship. But while I was thinking of what to say to him, he beat me to it, asking if I would forgive him for sending me home from camp. And he said it in front of 250 people.

I followed that by asking him if he would forgive me. Before our very public conversation ended, we were both laughing, a sure sign that our messy history had been all cleaned up. Although it took nearly 5 decades to straighten it out, I’m pretty sure God was laughing that day, too, right after he’d breathed a great big sigh of it’s-about-time.

The camp director and I kept communicating for quite a while after our conversation and actually became sincere friends, surely the result of God’s loving work within both of us.

As for my parents, their love for me remained unfailing, too. My poor behavior hadn’t eroded it, and once that summer was over, they never brought up the incident again.

“Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)