So many happy stories end in, “She said yes!”

A shy boy shows up at the front door with a cake box. On the cake it reads, “Prom?”

An elaborate marriage proposal, planned for months, and pulled off to perfection.

Mothers, girlfriends, and sisters breathing a sigh of relief at the wedding dress shop that the hunt is finally over.

I had a chance to watch three little girls experience the pure joy of “she said yes.” They were plotting and planning a sleepover, hopeful and giddy. The third girl hadn’t asked her mother yet. She ventured over to her Mom, asked the question, then began to shriek, “SHE SAID YES!!! SHE SAID YES!!!” I was so excited, I almost started to pack my sleepover bag myself.

You know what’s ever better than when the girl, the dress, and the Mom all end up in “yes?”

When God says, “YES.”

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 The Message (MSG)

20-22 Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.

God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.

This scripture hinges on God’s promises:

*There is nothing that can separate you from his love.

*You are fearfully and wonderfully made

*God has a plan to prosper you, and not harm you.

*God wants to give you a future with hope.

*God loved you so much, he sent his only son to die so that you might live.

*When you sincerely repent, he will forgive you, and wash you clean of your sins.

These promises are rock solid, stamped by Jesus’ YES, and are the affirmation of his eternal pledge to you. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. All he asks is that you believe he is who he says he is, and receive his grace. God’s yes and our yes, together.

What is God asking you today?

Say yes.

Crescent Moon by Michele Robertson.

According to the CDC:

• Secondhand smoke is smoke from burning tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes.

• Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that can cause cancer.

I am a recipient of second hand smoke. My parents both smoked cigarettes when I was a child, and I have strong and unpleasant memories of a care-giver down the street who watched me while my mother worked. Every day she smoked non-stop. The worst was riding in the car with her in the New Jersey winters with all the windows shut, breathing in her cigarette smoke as we ran errands in her VW bug.

I have had respiratory issues all my life. Coincidence, or exposure?

It occurs to me that there are other ways of encountering second hand “smoke,” as in the kind of smoke that comes with mirrors, or the smoke that someone tries to “blow up your chimney.” In this context, smoke is understood as “the obscuring or embellishing of the truth of a situation with misleading or irrelevant information.”

Sound like the nightly news? On any channel?

Essentially we are all victims of second hand smoke and mirrors. Nobody delivers the news any more. Nobody is telling the truth. It is all opinion, innuendo, and click-bait. Where is Walter Cronkite when you need him? The truth is obscured, misleading, and irrelevant. Contemporary news can make you heart-sick. And it is definitely toxic.

So what is truth? Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, heart, and the very being of God. Truth is God, expressed.

Psalm 25 New International Version (NIV)

2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame,

   nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame,

but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your TRUTH and teach me,

for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

God alone is our only source of truth.

God alone is our savior.

In this age of constant confusion, lies, misdirection, second hand smoke, and cracked mirrors, our only hope is for God to guide our path, teach us truth, and to show us the way.

1 Corinthians 15 The Message

If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.

But the TRUTH is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.

That’s the truth. You can stake your life on it. All the rest….ALL THE REST…will all pass away. The troubles, trials, and fabrications of this world will all bow down to the truth of Christ-resurrected.

When that time comes, do you think anyone will care about today’s headlines? What is trending on Twitter? What is going viral on FaceBook or YouTube?

Nope. All that will wither away in the face of truth.

So stop spending your day inhaling the toxic fumes of untruth of what is currently playing on the news. Quit logging in to the shattered mirror of social media. Turn your eyes instead upon Jesus. And the truth will set you free.

Suffolk Sunset by Michelle Robertson.

Have you ever seen such a relaxed pose? Don’t you wish that for a brief moment you could actually achieve this level of chill? Not a care in the world, not a thought in your mind, no worries, burdens or pressures of bills, flat tires, back-talking kids, cheating spouses, and lay-off notices. It’s a dog’s life!

But for the rest of us….

Relaxation is hard to attain. Everyday life is so full of everyday stress, and then life-altering situations such as job loss, death of a family member, childbirth, hurricanes, etc. come along and can send you right over the edge.

I evacuated twice from two different states during the most recent hurricane. It was heading straight for Florida while I was there. Flights were suddenly canceled and the airport was about to close so we fled to catch the last flight out to North Carolina. Then the hurricane turned and we braced again for it to hit us on the Outer Banks, so I evacuated a second time to Virginia. One storm, two evacuations, three states.

I came home to find it raining in my closet. It’s not supposed to rain in your closet. My shoulders were so tense, they did not come down from my ears for a month and my neck still aches from the tension. And compared to our brothers and sisters in Ocracoke, we got off easy.

What do you do to relax? Golf? Read? Walk somewhere beautiful? Play games? Binge Netflix? Talk with friends? These are all wonderful ways to find a measure of relaxation in the crazy reality you live in.

But do you ever wonder, what would it take to find relaxation that actually lasts?

Matthew 6 (The Message)

30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

What I’m trying to do here is to get you to RELAX, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.

People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Steep your life in God-reality.

Steep your life in God-initiative.

Steep your life in God-provisions.

Every tea drinker knows that to steep something means you immerse it in hot water and leave it there until it is bled out. Matthew is reminding us to immerse ourselves in the heat of God’s love until God-reality replaces crazy reality. Like a long, steamy bubble bath where you emerge jello-legged and empty-headed, we are invited to steep in everything God is providing, and stay immersed until the tension leaves our shoulders and we lay belly up on the beach in the warm sun.

Do something for yourself today: enter into God’s presence and RELAX there. God adores you and has great pride in you. He desires to meet your everyday human concerns. Let him take care of you, and just BREATHE.

See the dog? Be the dog.

Photo by Margaret Brushwood

When babies come into your life, a lot of things get clarified. Purpose, priorities, and the point of it all are among the top AHA moments we experience with a childbirth in the family. I have strong memories of running along the San Diego Bay four years ago when my first grandchild was born. I felt my mother-in-law’s spirit infused in every moment. “Nana” loved Coronado, and she would have loved being there to greet her oldest grandchild’s first child. I also felt keenly aware of my own mother in those early days. “Grandmere” loved her daughters and her granddaughters. These two matriarchs watch from heaven now, and as the new matriarch in the family, they both send their love from heaven straight to my heart.

The clarity that came with their spirits was about my own priorities. I had too often put work before family in my life, and these two women and the way they loved their families made me realize that the time had come to re-adjust.

In short, I was able to make an arrangement with my bishop and my church to be appointed in an “appointment without pay” so that I could have more flexibility in my schedule and not be as confined to the church’s calendar as I had been for twenty-plus years. I still serve the church, but I have more time to be present with my family. Not everyone can do this. I am blessed beyond measure, and this decision brought me to a place of peace I have not experienced in decades. Finally, I have balance.

Babies are a true “labor of love.” It takes a village of family and friends surrounding the new parents to make life work in the first few months. Housework, feeding, grocery shopping, meal prep, etc. all require a team effort so that mother, father and baby can do the important thing: thrive! Or at least survive!

Did you ever think about the fact that YOU are a labor of love, too? You are God’s labor of love:

John 3:16 The Message (MSG)

16  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

God’s labor of love was born in a manger and died on the cross so that you might live. His agony was your victory. His suffering assures you everything you need to thrive in this world, and in the world to come. Jesus labored so that you can have the blessed assurance of peace and hope.

And those who believe can be provide a labor of love to the world:

Hebrews 6:10-12 The Message (MSG)

9-12 I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well the labor of love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish.

Where is God calling you to provide a labor of love to someone today?

After 33 hours of laboring in love, my fourth grandchild has arrived. He is a small and tiny blessing, and reminds me once again of my purpose in life: to labor in love (I am so much in love with this wee boy!) and to extend this intensity toward a full-bodied hope until the day my labors are over.

How about you? May we labor in love until his Kingdom comes.

Stuff happens. Then more stuff happens. And before you know it, stuff has taken over, and you find yourself spending much more time than is reasonable just managing your stuff.

I have been trying to clean out my home office for two weeks. I have found a few treasures under the piles, but for the most part, I uncover something and wonder why the heck I still have it. I’ve come to the conclusion that stuff has a secret nocturnal reproductive life that we don’t know about. Surely every morning there is more stuff than there was the night before!

Stuff is the biggest challenge for folks who make the crazy decision to move into a tiny house. Made popular by HGTV, tiny houses are a fascinating (if wholly unrealistic!) trend for folks desiring a more simple and uncomplicated life.

Tiny houses range from 300-500 square feet. Think of that: you need to cram a kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, living room, storage space, and an eating table in less than 500 square feet. And then….where do you put your STUFF?

What do you really need? If you could pare your life down to the essentials, what would remain? Imagine you had to move into a 300 square foot tiny house: what would you keep, and what would you throw away?

The early church found out. They actually sold all their things so that they could support one another and live together in community, where everyone had what they needed and nobody had too much:

Acts 2:45-47 Common English Bible (CEB)

45 They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. 46 Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity.

47 They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.

They shared, with gladness and SIMPLICITY.

Do you ever wish for a more simple life? Is life too complicated? Have you lost sight of the simple delights God has provided? What does the Lord desire for you…more stuff, or more simplicity?

I believe we are all called to simplicity. Removing anything that distracts us from our calling as disciples enables us to experience a certain level of godliness that comes with simple contentment. Paring down to the essentials of what is necessary is a pathway to holiness.

And you might even fit it all in a tiny house, with room left over.

1 Timothy 6 (NIV)

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Tiny on!

Simple Sunset by Kenn Haas

Young Mother and Young Father were having a terrible night. Baby was fussy, feeding at a rate of a middle school boys soccer team, and sleep was a thing of the past. A twentieth attempt at nursing in three hours was soothing to Baby, but Young Parents were SPENT. As in ran-the-marathon with a high fever spent. As in government deficit-spending spent. There was nothing left in their sleep vaults.

Young Father moved zombie-like to the changing table to change the 812th diaper of the night. Baby had somehow completely wet the crib, and now needed a total changing.

After blow-drying the crib mattress, Young Father, still in the aforementioned state of being TOTALLY SPENT, went to install a dry diaper. Unfortunately, he neglected to protect himself from the possibility of rain showers at 2AM, and lo and behold, it rained. He cleaned up from that up-pour and returned Baby to Young Mother.

Now immersed in cleaning up the rest of the aftereffects of the storm, which included the changing pad, the crib sheet, the baby onesie, and parts of Young Father himself, he looked heavenward to pray to Almighty God and noticed something odd on the ceiling.

Young Mother at this point was sitting up in the bed, using rote to guide her through the next feeding. Suddenly Young Father stopped his cleaning activity and spoke to her in low, measured tones.

“Young Mother, I want you to calmly collect Baby and move to the other side of the room.” In her confused and DID I MENTION TOTALLY SPENT STATE, Young Mother blinked uncomprehendingly at her spouse. “I want you to move NOW,” he continued.

She moved just seconds before the large, winged, fanged, and possibly virulent COCKROACH flew from the ceiling directly above her head, down to the place where Young Father stood holding a dripping bundle-cloth and a baby outfit still warm from its owner.

A battle, the likes of which Game of Thrones only HOPED to portray, ensued. Young Father could not locate a shoe or heavy object nearby, and literally punched the roach twice with his bare fist. But as he went to retrieve a paper towel, the unthinkable happened as Young Mother watched from her corner…the roach arose from the dead.

In Lazarus-like fashion, it went from prostrate on the floor to arching his shiny black back like he was in the finals of a B-Boy breakdance competition. Up from the grave he arose, and re-located underneath a 300 pound dresser. Young Father, quite full of dead-of-night-alarm-adrenaline actually managed to shift the dresser, but Laz was on the move now, having had a better night’s sleep than poor Young Father.

Now the real stress began…to try to resume night-time routines (sleep? What’s sleep?) with a resurrected cockroach on the loose.

Have you ever lost sleep over things that go bump in the night? Do you wake up sometimes feeling under attack by the thoughts, words, actions, and situations you experienced during the day that come at you in the dark, disrupting your sleep?

So did David:

Psalm 3 Common English Bible (CEB)

3 Lord, I have so many enemies!

    So many are standing against me.

2 So many are talking about me:

    “Even God won’t help him.” Selah

3 But you, Lord, are my shield!

    You are my glory!

    You are the one who restores me.

4 I cry out loud to the Lord,

    and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah

5 I lie down, sleep, and wake up

    because the Lord helps me.

At the end of a long night, the sun arose, and Young Mother and Father went about their day. God provided enough sleep, and they discovered that when they cry out to the Lord, he answers from the holy mountain. Sleep came because the Lord helped them.

When you feel your enemies flying fang-first from the ceiling of your bedchamber in the middle of the night, remember that the Lord is your shield. He is your glory! He comes to restore you, and he hears your cries for deliverance.

In the dawn of the rising sun, Old Nana picked up a suitcase from the floor and out ran Lazarus. She commanded him back into the grave with a decisively fatal WHACK with a shoe. She even spoke words of committal over him as she flushed him to his watery grave. Peace reigned once again in the house.

May it also be with you tonight.

Nighttime Falls in Ocracoke by Rendy King.

“Now is the time; now is the best time. Now is the best time of your life!”

Fans of Walt Disney World will recognize the theme music to the wonderful attraction, “The Carousel of Progress.” This iconic moving theater experience was originally built for the 1964 World’s Fair, and then disassembled and eventually reconstructed in Tomorrowland in 1975. The cheerful message of progress through this century is a reminder that the best time we are living in is right now.

Do you believe that you are in your best time of your life right now? I imagine for many of us the answer is no. If you are dealing with an addict, your own addiction, undergoing chemotherapy, incarcerated, going through a rough divorce, confronted with rebellious children, caring for elderly parents, etc., you may not consider this the “best time of your life.” And that’s OK.

The writer of Ecclesiastes has an important reminder for us about the nature of time in the third chapter:

Ecclesiastes 3 New International Version (NIV)

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

    a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

    a time for war and a time for peace.

There is something comforting in realizing that there is a season for EVERYTHING under the sun. Everything has a place, everything follows an order, and everything has an appropriate and proper point on the space-time continuum. Even the things we dread have their own place. Death, war, mourning, and hate all have an allotted measure in the grand scope of our lives.

The best part is that it’s an allotted measure, i.e. something that happens for a specified period of time. This scripture on the consistency of life’s seasons and cycles teaches us that time is God-ordained and controlled, and we should just relax and let life flow accordingly.

Does that work for you? Yeah, me neither.

In my experience, I realize that this doesn’t work when MY timing is not jiving with God’s timing. Either I am being too slow to respond to his bidding, or (more likely the case) rushing into things with great enthusiasm, but no Godly direction.

I believe that Godly direction is the key to this whole thing. When we pray, discern, and yield ourselves COMPLETELY to God’s timing, it really is the best time of our lives. Setting aside our preconceived notion of when something should begin or end allows God to act as Timekeeper, and sets life into motion according to his plan.

Has the time come for you to do something? Is it time to change? Time to move? Is it time to end something? Maybe you are entering a season of growing, re-inventing yourself, and leaving all kinds of heavy things behind. Has the time come to speak up, or be quiet and let others sort things out?

This beautiful passage assures us that there is indeed a time for everything, and God is in each moment.

“A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

I hope you dance.

Dancing Waves by Michelle Robertson.

A friend who is undergoing cancer treatment is finally having a good week. He feels good, he can walk without a cane, and he actually drove a car for the first time in three months. So he went out and bought green bananas.

I love that last part. It is a glorious sign of recovery. It is a act of hope. It’s what people do when they realize they will indeed live to see another day.

I wonder how many of us are leading our lives as though tomorrow won’t come. There are times when life can beat us down so hard we don’t have the energy, resolve, or desire to even lift our head off the pillow. Sometimes this feeling is situational, and eventually gets easier.

I’m sure we can recall a very hard break up with someone we thought we would be ours forever. Relationships ending can leave us feeling tremendously defeated. If you’ve ever been fired, you might recall a moment of sitting in the car with your hands on the wheel, unable to imagine a tomorrow. At the moment when the doctor came out of the operating room and told us that our daughter had cancer when she was a college junior, I could not see her tomorrows for a moment. Not seeing hers made me not see mine. Losing your parents, a spouse, or God forbid, a child, can leave you not even wanting tomorrows.

Hebrews 11 The Message (MSG)

Faith in What We Don’t See

11 1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

When tomorrows seem hazy and possibly unattainable, it is good to remember what this verse is telling us. We have the firm foundation of a trustworthy God, which gives us a handle on what we can’t see. We can fix our feet firmly in a world called into existence by God. How amazing is it to know that God creates what we see, and what we don’t see. He is the creator of all of the tomorrows yet to come. We don’t need to see it…God does, and that is enough.

The ancestors of our faith were content to allow their tomorrows unfold according to God’s design and will for their lives. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah…they all bought green bananas.

32-36 There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead.

There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection.

Our ultimate tomorrow is found in the resurrection. There is something better. There is hope. There is a reason to get up, get moving, and get on with it. In truth, tomorrow never comes, for each tomorrow turns into today, and each day brings new mercies.

Faith is the reality of what we hope for and the proof of what we don’t see. So let us walk by faith and not by sight, and go forth to buy the green bananas.

Today Arrives, by Barbara Gudoski.

Every morning it’s the same thing. Check work emails, then delete dozens of unwanted ones. Even with unsubscribing, they just keep coming. They’re like cockroaches: kill one, and 12 more come out of hiding.

Ever wish you could just delete people/memories/experiences/things you said? Yep, me, too. At times, I have secretly wished I could delete my enemies.

An epiphany was just shared with me that brought me an incredible insight. At a prayer retreat, a leader was working through the 23rd Psalm and she stopped at, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

I think when we hear that for the first time we are tempted to indulge in a revenge fantasy. It goes something like this: you’re in heaven, seated at the heavenly banquet. Peter is on your left, Paul on your right, and Mary is serving biscuits. (See what I did there? If you did, you’re OLD. But I digress.) God is at the head of the table, admiring the place settings and silverware. Suddenly the door opens, and IN WALKS YOUR ENEMY.

“Aha!” you think. “Whaddya think of me now, ready to eat this filet and lobster dinner while you stand there and salivate? Wish you had been nicer to me? Loser!”

>Add the sound effect for screeching brakes here. (Sorry, I’ve been in Atlanta too long. But I digress.)

So let’s back up to what might go down instead.

Suddenly the door opens, and IN WALKS YOUR ENEMY AND TAKES THE SEAT DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM YOU. Filet and lobster are placed in front of them, and they enjoy the heavenly banquet with the rest of the redeemed.

Lost your appetite?

Surely the Enemy and all who do evil in the sight of the Lord will never feast together at his table. But what of those earthly enemies who acted from selfish ambition, greed, immaturity, arrogance, jealousy, narcissism…those who hurt us and move on? Is there room at the table for them?

The parable of the vineyard workers suggests a scenario where the table set before our enemies just might be a peacemaking meal. Workers were hired at the beginning of the day for a set wage. Others were hired mid-day, and some came to work 5 minutes before quitting time. All received the same wage. The early-bird workers complained bitterly, and the vineyard supervisor replied:

Matthew 20 (The Message)

13-15 “He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’

16 “Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”

The Great Reversal. God will seat at the table whom he will seat. He owns the vineyard. As much as we would like to delete our enemies, God loves them. Remember, we look upon the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart. And when he finds repentance, he puts out another place setting.

What can you do today to set a peacemaking table before YOUR enemies? Would a phone call, an invitation to talk, a gentle word perhaps be the first step toward turning that enemy into a friend? Certainly we must pray for our enemies…that’s biblical!

Jesus said that the “kingdom of God is at hand.” It is in the here and now. We are invited to behave on earth as it is in heaven. If heaven includes feasting with our enemies, why not start now?

Sunrise by Michelle Robertson.

If you have ever stood outside and watched the sunset on a clear evening, you have likely seen God’s artistry at its finest. I have never seen the Northern Lights, but the sun setting over the Albemarle Sound is a masterpiece of color, technique, and artistry unlike anywhere else. We are so blessed in the Outer Banks to behold such beauty on a nightly schedule. I can imagine God with a palette and paintbrush, deciding which colors he will use each night to delight his children.

What would we give, if we were to return the favor? Ever wonder what would delight God? What does God want from us that would give him the immense pleasure we get from a full-color sunset?

Psalm 147 New International Version (NIV)

1 Praise the Lord.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

    how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

    he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted

    and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars

    and calls them each by name.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

    his understanding has no limit.

6 The Lord sustains the humble

    but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;

    make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;

    he supplies the earth with rain

    and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle

    and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

11 the Lord delights in those who fear him,

    who put their hope in his unfailing love.

God delights in those who fear him. I learned in seminary that the word ‘fear’ in such cases is not the same as being afraid or terrified. No, indeed, this use of fear refers to “reverential trust.” God delights in those who have a reverential trust in him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. When you come straight to him for everything, it brings him delight. You are God’s delight! Imagine that.

We paint our own sunsets of beauty for God whenever we sing to the Lord with grateful praise. In this sense, though, it is not literal singing, but leading a LIFE of grateful praise. Serving one another as Jesus did, being generous to a fault, taking second place, praying without ceasing, encouraging the downtrodden…each of these things paints a beautiful scene for God to behold. And in those things, he is delighted.

A man approached me yesterday in a store parking lot. He was gentle and apologetic. He only spoke enough English to say, “Sorry.” He indicated the grocery store from which I had just come and said, “Sorry (followed by a lot of Spanish) taco.” Taco may be the only word he knows for food, and his humility in saying sorry repeatedly touched my heart. When he opened his hand and pointed to a few coins and said, “one dollar,” I realized he was asking for money. One dollar.

One dollar won’t buy you a taco in this part of Atlanta, so I gave him a ten.

His eyes welled up and his head dropped in gratitude as he quietly and profusely thanked me. I don’t know if he went off to buy baby formula or beer, but as I put my cart away, I saw him walking into Publix with his head held high, and I saw God’s artistry in that moment.

Where are you being called to delight God today? Can you be generous? Encourage someone who is down? Pray for a hurting neighbor? Take a casserole to a lonely person?

Go ahead. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Live out your life of grateful praise by painting something beautiful with your actions. God will be absolutely delighted.

Photo by Carol Riggin.