Seed Birth

Posted on by Betsy

My generous neighbor left me four beautiful plants as she returned to her permanent home last month. I am the happy recipient of rosemary, basil, cilantro, and mint.

They are already dying.

I neglected to tell her that when it comes to plants, I have a black thumb. I have actually been known to kill plastic plants. Kid you not. I either over-water or under-water, but in the end, no plant has ever survived my care.

I take heart in knowing that in general, a plant has to die before it can be reborn. That is exactly how seeds work. The seed is the dormant product of a thriving plant, and once planted in the ground, it becomes a thriving plant as well. Perhaps I can collect the seeds of these plants to give to her when she returns.

Thanks be to God, that is exactly how it works when we die, too:

1 Corinthians 15 (Common English Bible)

35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?” 36 Look, fool! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t come back to life unless it dies. 37 What you put in the ground doesn’t have the shape that it will have, but it’s a bare grain of wheat or some other seed. 38 God gives it the sort of shape that he chooses, and he gives each of the seeds its own shape. 39 All flesh isn’t alike. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another kind of flesh, birds have another kind of flesh, and fish have another kind. 

When we die and are buried, we exchange our earthly bodies for heavenly ones. Paul teaches us that both types have a kind of glory:

40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The heavenly bodies have one kind of glory, and the earthly bodies have another kind of glory. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, the moon has another kind of glory, and the stars have another kind of glory (but one star is different from another star in its glory). 42 It’s the same with the resurrection of the dead: a rotting body is put into the ground, but what is raised won’t ever decay. 43 It’s degraded when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in glory. It’s weak when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in power. 44 It’s a physical body when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised as a spiritual body.

Take a look at the beautiful language in verse 47. Paul said that the Adam was made from dust, but the last Adam, Jesus, is made from heaven. Our resurrected, spiritual bodies come from heaven above! Like Jesus, our resurrected bodies will walk and eat, but will not be bound by the constraints of the earth. I am so relieved about the eating part.

If there’s a physical body, there’s also a spiritual body. 45 So it is also written, the first human, Adam, became a living person, and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. 46 But the physical body comes first, not the spiritual one—the spiritual body comes afterward. 47 The first human was from the earth made from dust; the second human is from heaven. 48 The nature of the person made of dust is shared by people who are made of dust, and the nature of the heavenly person is shared by heavenly people. 49 We will look like the heavenly person in the same way as we have looked like the person made from dust.

As you contemplate this idea of your glorified, heavenly body, give thanks to God for the gift of the resurrection. We need not fear death. Death is but a transition to a glory unknown, thanks be to God.

Morning Glory by Vic Miles

Attention, Please

Posted on by Betsy

I was buckled in with my cell phone in airplane mode and my tray table in its upright and locked position. I was ready for takeoff. We had just started to push back when the PA come on and the flight attendant asked, “Did anybody drop this?” Of course, everybody looked up, craning their heads around the seats and leaning into the aisles to see. She continued, “OK, now that I have your attention, let’s go over the safety demo.”

Touché! Well played, Southwest Airlines, well played! I am a huge fan of the whimsical approach to customer service that Southwest uses. They are one of my favorite airlines.

If God could completely have your attention, what do you think he would say?

Here’s one thought:

Matthew 6 (The Message)

34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

Whoa. Did you hear that? Are you craning your head around all your problems to see what he is saying? Don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. Whatever it is, God will help you deal with it.

Do you believe that? Do you have a well of trust deep enough that when you dip your worry-bucket in, it comes out filled up to the rim with hope? Yeah, me neither. It is hard to face your unspoken fears with courage and faith. Instead, our human tendency is to immediately dive deep into fret and worry. It’s normal. It’s natural. It’s understandable.

And it’s also useless.

Scripture reminds us that God loves the wildflowers he created, and … wait for it … he loves us even more:

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.”

Do I have your attention yet?

So, here’s the thing. You know God. You know how he works. Every day you check in here to read, learn, and grow in your understanding of his Word. So, pick this up today: the best defense against useless worry is to relax in his promises.

Steep your life in God-reality.

Steep your life in God-initiative.

Steep your life in God-provisions.

When you do that, you’ll find all your everyday concerns will be met by the God who loves you, who created you, and who died on a cross for you.

Thanks be to God!

No Worries by Jennifer Thompson

Belonging

Posted on by Betsy

How many groups do you belong to? Over the course of a lifetime, we belong to many things. We are part of an elementary school class, then a work team, we participate in community efforts, we join social groups, we play on a sports team, we connect with alumni groups, and hopefully we belong to a community of faith. We even join rewards clubs so we can earn extra points on our purchases. Hello, Sky-miles!

Each group comes with a different set of membership requirements. Even on Facebook, you have to answer some questions before you can join a specialized group. Some groups have a low threshold, such as a neighborhood book club that simply asks that you read the book before coming, and some have a high bar, like having to take classes prior to joining, such as volunteering for the local fire department or hospital. Sometime churches require taking a membership class in order to join.

I have never regretted the day that I became part of Jesus’ group. Belonging to Jesus is a life-long process of walking with him. All are invited to follow him. Those who share a common belief that Christ is Lord belong to each other, and God invites us to lose our life in order to find it by living for his son.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes what belonging to God looks like. This is a pretty high bar. He suggests to the Romans that being a part of this group means that they don’t live for themselves anymore:

Romans 14 (Common English Bible)

7 We don’t live for ourselves and we don’t die for ourselves. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God. 9 This is why Christ died and lived: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

What does that mean for you today? Does it seem like a big ask?

I think the beauty of this passage comes in the reciprocal nature of what Paul is describing. Christ died for us so that we might live for him. Which is the harder task? Our living or his dying?

But more importantly, whether we live or die, we belong to God. That means we share in the glory of knowing the son up close and personal. That means we share in the glory of a promised new heaven. That means we participate in the glory of the resurrection.

That means we are never alone.

Are you feeling vulnerable right now? Do you feel alone? Are you struggling with a burden that is too big to carry by yourself?

Never forget that you belong to God. He calls you by your name and he prepares a table before you. All you have to do is follow.

Reflected Glory by Kathy Schumacher

Things Aren’t Always as They Seem

Posted on by Betsy

Yesterday’s children’s sermon involved a little trickery on my part. I showed the children a large red tube of “toothpaste” that my husband had just brought back from Germany. I squeezed a dollop of this German mittlesharf senf onto a toothbrush and watched their surprise as they realized that it wasn’t toothpaste at all … it was mustard. We then talked about the fact that you can’t tell what it inside by looking at the outside of things.

Or people.

Today’s scripture is a like that. Jesus pointed to the humiliation of the cross and called it “glory.” Notice that Jesus used some form of the word “glory” five times in the space of two brief sentences. We join Jesus and the disciples in the upper room just after Judas has left:

John 13 (Common English Bible)

31 When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Human One has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify the Human One in himself and will glorify him immediately. 

As soon as Judas left, the process of glorification was set in motion. The arrest, the beatings, the sham trial, and the execution were now in motion and Jesus’ death was assured. Crucifixion on a crude cross was designed for the punishment, humiliation, and debasement of convicted criminals, yet Jesus saw this as his glorification. For Jesus, to be fully known and understood was to be glorified. Finally, the world would know why he had come and through his death on the cross, the world was saved. He took the ugliness of the cross and made it beautiful.

33 Little children, I’m with you for a little while longer. You will look for me—but, just as I told the Jewish leaders, I also tell you now—‘Where I’m going, you can’t come.’

Glory came with his resurrection. Glory was delivered in the form of eternal life for all who believe. Jesus entered into his glory and invites us to follow. But we have one important thing to do first: we must learn to love each other.

34 “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”

The invitation to glory and the commandment to love one another is inextricably linked. What if that became the one and only requirement for entry to heaven? What if your eternal life was predicated on your demonstrable love for others? Would there be enough evidence to convict you to eternal life?

Where there is hate, let us sow love. It’s not too late. It’s never too late to follow Jesus into a glorified life of loving as he loved us. Let’s get to it.

Glory Fountain by Kathy Schumacher

Complain, Complain

Posted on by Betsy

I have exciting news. A new season of “Alone” has just been released on Netflix. This addicting show follows ten highly trained survivalists who are literally dropped in the wilderness to see which one can survive the longest. They record their experiences on Go Pros and cameras on selfie-sticks. You will watch them navigate the cold, the lack of food, the need to build a shelter, the lack of tools and equipment … it is amazing to watch. Every episode is filled with human ingenuity and courage beyond measure.

One of the persistent themes is hunger and the body’s need to consume as many calories as the body burns in these harsh conditions. They attempt to fish, snare small game, hunt larger game, and forage edible plants and berries. In the process, the viewer learns a lot about nutrition via the side bar explanations that are edited in. Absolutely fascinating! Be sure to have a peanut butter sandwich on hand if you decide to watch it.

Food and water are essential to life. God created and designed our bodies to consume calories and expend calories. When we don’t consume enough, our bodies suffer greatly, not to mention the fact that we become “hangry.” (“Hangry” is the combination of hungry and angry. This describes me perfectly.)

Moses had his hands full of hangry people when he led them out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land:

Numbers 11 (Common English Bible)

Complaint over the lack of meat

4 The riffraff among them had a strong craving. Even the Israelites cried again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for free, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 Now our lives are wasting away. There is nothing but manna in front of us.”

It amuses me that the Common English Bible begins this passage with calling the non-Israelites “riffraff.” The New King James Version says it this way: Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving. We read in Exodus 12:8 that there was a component of non-Hebrew slaves and other refugees fleeing Egypt that had assimilated into the exodus. This mixed multitude was the first to complain. They would have loved social media.

They were not on a spiritual journey like the Israelites, so we might assume that their journey was more about leaving a horrific situation than being delivered through a miracle and arriving in a land that God had established for them. In any case, they felt hunger first and began a chorus of complaint that was soon harmonized by the Israelites.

It might seem unfathomable to us that having just escaped harsh slavery, deprivation, and abuse, they would long for the “free” cucumbers and garlic of their enslavers. But it points to a common human condition that we share with our spiritual ancestors. The minute things start to become challenging, we can become amnesiacs and forget how bad things can really be. We can romanticize the past and overlook the reality of its starkness. Were the “good old days” really that good, or does memory add color and animation to its drabness?

7 The manna was like coriander seed and its color was like resin. 8 The people would roam around and collect it and grind it with millstones or pound it in a mortar. Then they would boil it in pots and make it into cakes. It tasted like cakes baked in olive oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp during the night, the manna would fall with it.

I don’t know about you, but cakes baked in olive oil sound pretty good!

Moses’ complaint about leadership

10 Moses heard the people crying throughout their clans, each at his tent’s entrance. The Lord was outraged, and Moses was upset. 11 Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? And why haven’t I found favor in your eyes, for you have placed the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give birth to them, that you would say to me, ‘Carry them at the breast, as a nurse carries an unweaned child,’ to the fertile land that you promised their ancestors? 13 Where am I to get meat for all these people? They are crying before me and saying, ‘Give us meat, so we can eat.’ 14 I can’t bear this people on my own. They’re too heavy for me. 15 If you’re going to treat me like this, please kill me. If I’ve found favor in your eyes, then don’t let me endure this wretched situation.”

God doesn’t need our pity or empathy, but it stings a little to read that “The Lord was outraged.” Then Moses heaped more coals on the situation by adding to the complaints of his people and giving God an ultimatum: “if you’re going to treat me like this, please kill me.” Here was the Creator of the universe giving the people land, cakes, freedom, milk, and honey, and all they can do is complain!

But aren’t we like that, too? How many times have you wanted to complain against God when things go wrong? How quickly do you forget all of his many blessings when a challenge arises?

We are just like the Israelites. We treat God like a giant vending machine that deserves a solid kick on the side if it fails to deliver our Doritos.

And as we can see by this passage, complaining can be contagious. Do you complain too much? Are others around you affected by your complaining? Are you being brought low by someone else’s constant venting?

So here is your challenge for today: when you feel tempted to complain, JUST STOP. Don’t let the riffraff pull you in. Just stop expressing it out loud and see what happens. Thank God for what you have instead. Do you think you can make it a day without complaining? I bet you can. Count your blessings instead.

Old Bird by Michelle Robertson

Pray Like This

Posted on by Betsy

How do you pray?

Do you set aside intentional time, sit with a list of prayer concerns, and go straight into intercession? Do you pray spontaneously throughout the day as random needs present themselves? Do you only pray on Sundays when the pastor leads you? Do you say grace at meals?

Prayer is such a personal and individual thing. At its heart, prayer is simply our opportunity to speak with our loving parent who is always ready and able to have any conversation we desire. I know God has heard my most complex and my silliest, simplest prayers, and I am so grateful for his love and attention … especially when I am running up a big hill and pray, “Oh, Lord, just get me up this hill. Amen.” The fact that I am sitting in a chair writing this morning is evidence that God has gotten me up every big hill that I have ever encountered in my life. Thanks be to God!

When Jesus instructed his disciples how to pray in a passage that we refer to as “the Lord’s Prayer,” he was offering a basic outline for how we might fashion our prayers. There is no right or wrong way to pray. Scripture assures us that God even hears our prayers that are expressed in “sighs and groans.”

26 In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans. (Romans 8: 26)

So let us take a moment to unpack Jesus’ prescription for prayer:

Matthew 6 (Common English Bible)

9 Pray like this:

Our Father who is in heaven,

uphold the holiness of your name.

Point 1: acknowledge God’s holiness.

10 Bring in your kingdom

so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.

Point 2: Ask for God’s will to be done in your situation.

11 Give us the bread we need for today.

Point 3: Ask for what you need.

12 Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,

just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.

Point 4: Ask for forgiveness but be ready to offer that same forgiveness to the people around you who have hurt you. Yep, that’s what it means.

13 And don’t lead us into temptation,

but rescue us from the evil one.

Point 5: Petition God for his protection against all manner of evil that comes at you in the form of temptation.

Jesus offers this short outline as a place to start when we sit down to talk to our Father. It is important enough to be included in every protestant denomination’s order of worship and worship liturgies, including weddings and funerals. But do you know what is even more important than reciting the Lord’s Prayer? Just talking to God.

Take some time today to have a conversation with your Abba today. Use words if necessary.

Morning Chat by Michelle Robertson

God Alone

Posted on by Betsy

The recent images coming from the new James Webb Space Telescope are absolutely breathtaking. Image after image reveals new stars, planetary systems, and galaxies that we never knew existed. Having this new lens into the possibilities of our multiverse is yet another indication of the majesty of God’s creation. NASA references the “Big Bang theory” in its explanation of what we are seeing and how all of it was formed. I believe that … I believe that God said, “BANG!” and it was so! With one word from God, all of creation came into being.

In our scripture today, Nehemiah wrote a liturgical prayer that expresses how God’s Big Bang was understood by people who didn’t even have a rudimentary telescope to look through. (The word “liturgical” relates to any part of a public worship experience.) With the naked eye, Nehemiah perceived not just heaven, but the heaven of heavens, and the heavenly forces. When I look at the picture below from the James Webb Telescope, I think Nehemiah’s description was amazingly accurate:

Nehemiah 9 (Common English Bible)

You alone are the Lord.
        You alone made heaven, even the heaven of heavens, with all their forces.
        You made the earth and all that is on it, and the seas and all that is in them.
            You preserve them all, and the heavenly forces worship you.

Having ascribed the wonder of creation to the Creator, Nehemiah goes on to tell the story of God’s interaction with his people. Covenants, promises, signs, wonders, and God’s deliverance are part of Nehemiah’s liturgy of praise:

7 Lord God, you are the one who chose Abram.
        You brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
8         You found him to be faithful before you,
            and you made a covenant with him.
You promised to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites,
        the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites.
And you have kept your promise because you are righteous.

9 You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt
        and heard their cry at the Reed Sea.
10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
        all his servants, and the people of his land.
    You knew that they had acted arrogantly against our ancestors.
        You made a name for yourself, a name that is famous even today.
11 You divided the sea before them so that they went through it on dry land.
        But you cast their pursuers into the depths,
            as a stone into the mighty waters.
12 With a pillar of cloud you led them by day
        and with a column of lightning by night;
            they lit the way in which the people should go.

Any good praise liturgy includes the importance of the law and the commandments:
13 You came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven.
        You gave them proper judgments and true Instruction,
            good statutes and commandments.

And let us not forget the importance of the sabbath. This is a place to pause today and ask if we honor the sabbath as we have been instructed. Do you take time out of your crazy week to worship? Do you stop to rest? Do you sit in God’s presence? I fear many of us do not allow ourselves this prescribed respite from the overly busy tempo of our lives. God created the sabbath for us! Are you neglecting this gift?

14         You made known to them your holy Sabbath,
            and gave them commandments, statutes, and Instruction through your servant Moses.

God created all things for the blessing and benefit of his children. He provides bread, water, land, stars, planets, and everything we need … including his only son for our salvation.

15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven;
        when they were thirsty, you brought water out of the rock for them.
You told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

Tonight, when it gets dark, go outside and look up. God alone made all of this for you. May all creation rise up and say, “Amen!”

James Webb Space Telescope photo by NASA via Facebook

Get Out of Jail Free

Posted on by Betsy

When my daughters were teenagers, I came up with a crazy idea. I have always thought that kids get themselves into worse situations because they are afraid to tell their parents when they made a mistake. The fear of punishment or damaging the relationship prevents them from being honest. I was afraid that one of them would find themselves in a compromising situation and not want to call me for help, so I developed a “Get Out of Jail Free” strategy.

You may remember that in the game of Monopoly, there is a card that can be used when you land in jail that enables you to get out without paying the $200 fine. So, my “Get Out of Jail Free” offer worked like this: if they ever got into a predicament and needed a rescue, they could call me and “play” this card. That meant that I would not ask questions or mete out any punishment. I would simply come immediately and get them, no questions asked. So, any party that got out of control, any situation with peers that became too intense, anytime a boyfriend was pushing for something they didn’t want to do, etc., Mama would come with one simple phone call. Neither one of them ever used this, but there were many times when this idea of a guaranteed non-judgmental response from me was referenced when we were having conversations about things going on in their lives. They remembered my promise to be a place of safety and reminded me of it from time to time.

Everybody needs a lifeline at some point in their lives. Everybody needs one person to whom they can pour out their heart without fear of condemnation or judgment. Everybody needs a safe space.

In our scripture today, King Solomon is praying before the gathered assembly as they dedicate the temple in Jerusalem. He is reaching out to God to be a lifeline for the Israelites, reminding God of his promises to deliver the nation:

1 Kings 8 (Common English Bible)

22 Solomon stood before the Lord’s altar in front of the entire Israelite assembly and, spreading out his hands toward the sky, 23 he said:

Lord God of Israel, there’s no god like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep the covenant and show loyalty to your servants who walk before you with all their heart. 24 This is the covenant you kept with your servant David, my father, which you promised him. Today, you have fulfilled what you promised. 25 So now, Lord, Israel’s God, keep what you promised my father David, your servant, when you said to him, “You will never fail to have a successor sitting on Israel’s throne as long as your descendants carefully walk before me just as you walked before me.”26 So now, God of Israel, may your promise to your servant David, my father, come true.

Solomon articulated his theology in this prayer. He is confirming things that the people know about God, and what God knows about the people. God keeps the covenant. God fulfills what he promises. God is loyal to his servants. The people walk before God with all their heart. There is no god like God.

Notice how many times Solomon calls upon God to listen. Is there someone in your life who simply needs you listen to them?

27 But how could God possibly live on earth? If heaven, even the highest heaven, can’t contain you, how can this temple that I’ve built contain you?28 Lord my God, LISTEN to your servant’s prayer and request, and hear the cry and prayer that your servant prays to you today. 29 Constantly watch over this temple, the place about which you said, “My name will be there,” and LISTEN to the prayer that your servant is praying toward this place.30 LISTEN to the request of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place. LISTEN from your heavenly dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

We won’t read the entire prayer today due to its length but look for indications of Israel’s understanding of God’s nature in the next two paragraphs. They knew God created and controlled the rain. They knew that God offered forgiveness of sins. They knew God had instructed them to care for the immigrants in their midst. They knew God would listen from heaven.

35 When the sky holds back its rain because Israel has sinned against you, but they then pray toward this place, give thanks to your name, and turn away from their sin because you have punished them for it, 36 then LISTEN from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the best way for them to follow, and send rain on your land that you gave to your people as an inheritance.

41 LISTEN also to the immigrant who isn’t from your people Israel but who comes from a distant country because of your reputation— 42 because they will hear of your great reputation, your great power, and your outstretched arm. When the immigrant comes and prays toward this temple, 43 then LISTEN from heaven, where you live, and do everything the immigrant asks. Do this so that all the people of the earth may know your reputation and revere you, as your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I have built bears your name.

Is God calling you to be a safe space for someone? Is there a teenager in your life who needs a “Get Out of Jail Free Card”? Can you be a non-judgmental rescuer for someone? Do you need to listen better?

This is what God offers us. Shouldn’t we offer it to others in his name?

52 Open your eyes to your servant’s request and to the request of your people Israel. Hear them whenever they cry out to you. 53 You set them apart from all the earth’s peoples as your own inheritance, Lord, just as you promised through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.

LISTEN by Michelle Robertson

Despair Prayers

Posted on by Betsy

Last week I spoke with a new widow in my congregation. Her husband of over 70 years passed away a month ago and it was her first time back in church. She described what many people experience with grief: she can’t stop crying, she is overwhelmed, she is depressed and lonely, and it took her a tremendous amount of effort just to come to church. I could feel the despair oozing out of her as she talked, and my heart was broken for her. I assured her that grieving like this is normal, and eventually she will learn new ways to live with her loss. I know this to be true, but the words sounded hollow and empty in the face of her suffering. She looked at me with trusting eyes and pulled herself together.

If I could invent a tonic for despair and bottle it up, I would give this woman cases of it. Her pain was etched into her face, her voice, and even the way she moved her hands as she spoke.

Pastoral care involves being with people in some of the worst moments of their lives. We visit in the hospitals, in hospice centers, in prisons, and in homes when someone’s life has just fallen apart, or a great loss has occurred. We sit in our offices as people come and describe the indescribable. When this happens, I think about the scriptures that assure us of Jesus’ promise of his presence, his salvation, his redemption, and the hope that he brings.

But sometimes I think about Job.

Job is a story of despair. Nobody in the Old Testament had it quite as bad as Job. Job lost his home, his hundreds of sheep and cows, his wife, all of his sons and daughters, and even his health. In the midst of all of his undeserved suffering, he prayed this prayer of despair:

Job 3 (Common English Bible)

3 Afterward, Job spoke up and cursed the day he was born.

2 Job said:
3 Perish the day I was born,
    the night someone said,
    “A boy has been conceived.”
4 That day—let it be darkness;
    may God above ignore it,
    and light not shine on it.
5 May deepest darkness claim it
    and a cloud linger over it;
    may all that darkens the day terrify it.
6 May gloom seize that night;
    may it not be counted in the days of a year;
    may it not appear in the months.
7 May that night be childless;
    may no happy singing come in it.
8 May those who curse the day curse it,
    those with enough skill to awaken Leviathan.
9 May its evening stars stay dark;
    may it wait in vain for light;
    may it not see dawn’s gleam,
10     because it didn’t close the doors of my mother’s womb,
    didn’t hide trouble from my eyes.

This is despair at a very deep level. To wish you had never been born is an indication of a profound loss of hope and debilitating depression. Have you ever felt that way?

11 Why didn’t I die at birth,
    come forth from the womb and die?
12 Why did knees receive me
    and breasts let me nurse?
13 For now I would be lying down quietly;
    I’d sleep; rest would be mine
14         with kings and earth’s advisors,
        who rebuild ruins for themselves,
15         or with princes who have gold,
        who fill their houses with silver.
16 Or why wasn’t I like a buried miscarried infant,
    like babies who never see light?
17 There the wicked rage no more;
    there the weak rest.
18 Prisoners are entirely at ease;
    they don’t hear a boss’s voice.
19 Both small and great are there;
    a servant is free from his masters.

Job’s despair goes from hopelessness to anguish. He longs for the blackness of death over the light of life:

20 Why is light given to the hard worker,
    life to those bitter of soul,
21     those waiting in vain for death,
        who search for it more than for treasure,
22     who rejoice excitedly,
        who are thrilled when they find a grave?
23 Why is light given to the person whose way is hidden,
    whom God has fenced in?

In this next section, we read words that many of us have felt in the darkest moments of our lives. We dreaded something and it came. Our groans become our daily bread, and our roars for rescue pour out like water. In the 26th verse, Job echoes what many people feel in moments of defeat. We have no ease. We have no quiet. We can find no rest.

24 My groans become my bread;
    my roars pour out like water.
25 Because I was afraid of something awful,
    and it arrived;
    what I dreaded came to me.
26 I had no ease, quiet, or rest,
    and trembling came.

And so, to the list of everything Job lost, we can add more things. Job lost his peace of mind and his ability to rest. But do you know what Job didn’t lose?

His faith.

At the end of his story, Job’s life was restored to him because he didn’t lose his faith. This brings us comfort in our misery, knowing that God’s presence is never gone from us in times of trouble. We can expect that in some measure, life will return after a siege. “New normals” replace old normals and God helps us pick ourselves up and get on with things. No, my new widow’s husband won’t ever come back to her. But in due time, she will indeed learn to live with her grief and find comfort in happy memories of their life together.

We do recover.

So, if you find yourself in a season of despair right now, remember Job. Don’t lose your faith, and don’t give up your hope. God is with you.

Always.

Reflections of a New Day by Michelle Robertson

Negotiations

Posted on by Betsy

Some people do very well in negotiations. Lawyers, car salespeople, toddlers … these types of people are gifted in the give-and-take, quid pro quo world of negotiating. My husband is an expert negotiator. My daughter and I accompanied him a few years ago when he negotiated the price of a new car. He was so good at it that she and I got up and found the free popcorn and coffee bar at the other side of the dealership and spent the rest of the time cringing in the corner. Neither of us like to barter, so the entire exchange made us very uncomfortable. Kudos to him, though! He got the price he wanted.

Can we ever negotiate with God?

We have been taught since birth to pray for God’s will to be done. This idea is so important, it is even part of the Lord’s Prayer, telling us that Jesus thought it was a seminal part of our relationship with God. Indeed, it is what he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion. Yielding to God’s will is what is best for us, knowing that only God knows the right and righteous path we should take.

So, what is happening here between Abraham and God?

Genesis 18 (Common English Bible)

16 The men got up from there and went over to look down on Sodom. Abraham was walking along with them to send them off 17 when the Lord said, “Will I keep from Abraham what I’m about to do? 18 Abraham will certainly become a great populous nation, and all the earth’s nations will be blessed because of him. 19 I have formed a relationship with him so that he will instruct his children and his household after him. And they will keep to the Lord’s path, being moral and just so that the Lord can do for Abraham everything he said he would.” 20 Then the Lord said, “The cries of injustice from Sodom and Gomorrah are countless, and their sin is very serious! 21 I will go down now to examine the cries of injustice that have reached me. Have they really done all this? If not, I want to know.”

Notice that verse 19 gives us a clue about what is about to transpire. “I have formed a relationship with him” lets us know that God’s love and concern for Abraham is grounded in mutual respect and trust. God had chosen Abraham to be the patriarch of many nations. Abraham is about to become the founder of the people of God. It was a big ask. With big asks come big rewards. In this case, the reward was the relationship that God offered Abraham.

22 The men turned away and walked toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing in front of the Lord. 23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you really sweep away the innocent with the guilty?24 What if there are fifty innocent people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not save the place for the sake of the fifty innocent people in it? 25 It’s not like you to do this, killing the innocent with the guilty as if there were no difference. It’s not like you! Will the judge of all the earth not act justly?”

And so, Abraham began the negotiation process, pleading for the innocent people. Notice how he framed his “ask” each time:

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will save it because of them.”

27 Abraham responded, “Since I’ve already decided to speak with my Lord, even though I’m just soil and ash, 28 what if there are five fewer innocent people than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city over just five?”

The Lord said, “If I find forty-five there, I won’t destroy it.”

29 Once again Abraham spoke, “What if forty are there?”

The Lord said, “For the sake of forty, I will do nothing.”

30 He said, “Don’t be angry with me, my Lord, but let me speak. What if thirty are there?”

The Lord said, “I won’t do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Since I’ve already decided to speak with my Lord, what if twenty are there?”

The Lord said, “I won’t do it, for the sake of twenty.”

32 Abraham said, “Don’t be angry with me, my Lord, but let me speak just once more. What if there are ten?”

And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it because of those ten.” 33 When the Lord finished speaking with Abraham, he left; but Abraham stayed there in that place.

Abraham reminded God of just how much he revered God. His voice took on a pleading tone: “Don’t be angry with me” and “Even though I’m just soil and ash” etc. He prefaced each request with a statement that let God know that he felt unworthy of God’s consideration but trusted that God loved him enough that asking again is permissible in the context of their relationship.

This is how we feel when our three-year-old keeps asking for a cookie or our teenage daughter persists in making a case for why she should be allowed to go to the party we have already forbidden. Their understanding of our love for them emboldens them to keep asking. As annoying as that can be, it is also a good thing.

How is your relationship with God? Do you trust him? Do you speak to him often enough that when you need to ask for something, you feel comfortable knowing that he will hear you?

God taught Abraham about intercessory prayer in this exchange. He also taught him about having compassion for others. This story reminds us that effective prayer reminds both us and God that we know who God is, and we understand how God works in a situation. Effective prayer doesn’t position us as passive observers in what God does. Indeed, effective prayer proceeds as if it might actually remind God of his saving nature and perhaps affect an outcome.

As it turns out, there weren’t even ten innocent people in Sodom, and so the city was destroyed. But Abraham learned how to effectively love and pray for others, which was an important lesson for the father of all nations.

May our prayers of intercession for others be filled with such wisdom and compassion as well.

Stand Tall by Roni Helford