Chapter ...Yesterday

I heard a great analogy of the human to God relationship the other day. I was talking with a friend and she was telling me about a concert she went to see. She had been waiting for this concert for months. She loved the artists songs and was totally psyched. She even waited to buy the newest CD because somehow it would be better--more special--if she could get it there. But to her great disappointment, the concert wasn't that amazing. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but it was just... a concert. Afterwards she stood in outrageous lines to get her new CD signed. The first time she tried (at intermission) they had cut the line off before she could get up to the artist. So here she was again. You can probably guess what happened. They cut the line off for the second time. Completely dismayed she begged to be able to get in--she had waited twice now! Finally the attendant suggested she try to get in the other line. So she did. And finally got to meet the artist, who even excused himself from a group of fans to sign her CD (asking her name to make the note more personal) and took a picture with her. Still, in the end she walked away feeling a little let down by the whole experience and offhandedly commented to me that it made her realize that just because she listened to the music, and bought the CD and got it signed and had a picture taken, didn't mean that she had any real relationship with the artist it was all superficial. And I thought, "Oh my goodness! That's it!" As humans, we can hear about God from other people, we can know facts, we can have bumper stickers and t-shirts, and pictures of a Jesus (that ironically looks like he walked right out of our own ethnicity), and still not know God. And the scary part is that it's so easy to think that we do. So here's my question: How well do you really know God?

Chapter 18-26

Did you know that joy and sorrow can be experienced simultaneously? That Happiness (aside from those who wrestle with clinical depression) is a choice, and that God can be found even in the tough times? I know it (my brain registers the idea) but sometimes I don't know it. Sometimes I doubt that He cares. Too often I let my emotions shape my beliefs. Too often I look toward heaven and cast blame rather than search for stability. But God is good and he can be found in the tough times. David knew this to be true, for he penned the 23rd Psalm which among other things asserts, "Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and staff comfort me." Now I'm going to be stealing some ideas from a few sermons I've heard, so please don't think I came up with this on my own. But David really hit on some profound things in these few lines. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Not the valley of death, but the valley of the shadow of death. (Which, from what I've been told is actually a real valley that David would have seen btw.) Shadows tend to be bigger than the thing casting them and shadows don't actually have real substance. But they can be scary none the less. Shadows scared me as a child. Shadows are dark and evil tends to like to lurk in darkness. But shadows also cannot be present without light. They in in of themselves cannot hurt us. As one speaker said, "I would much rather be run over by the shadow of a truck..." And God is with us. It may not seem like it. I have definitely had my share of, "are you listening?! Do you even care? Are you even up there?" moments. And eventually I get the answer and am shamed by my lack of trust in Him. 

Trust. Huh. That seems to really be the key. "Religion" means nothing in the valleys. (Or in the deserts. When we're in the desert, religion won't quench our thirst or shield us from the hot sun. We can see it in the Israelites when they escaped egypt and went into the wilderness. Over and over and over again God in His own way said, "Trust me." Why was it so important that they learn this one concept? Because we will have trouble in this world. And yes, He has overcome the world, but do we trust Him enough to see that victory? I heard another speaker say, "The desert place is where faith goes to solidify or to die." How true.) So how do we experience joy in times of sorrow? How to we choose to be happy? How do we find God in the hard times? Maybe it begins with learning how to trust Him with more than an hour on Sunday and fifteen minutes the rest of the week. Maybe it means seeking Him out in the hard times rather than avoiding Him in anger. Maybe it means letting go, (because honestly, how much control do we really have in life?) and looking to God to tell us what to do with life, day by day. Scary. What if He asks you to do something hard? What if He asks you to do something you don't want to do? On the other hand, what if you never ask, never look, never try? Could it be that people who live in reckless abandonment of Self find purpose, and ambition, and desire, and drive? Could it be that they know God on a personal level and therefore don't have to struggle to trust Him? Could it be that they are tapping into a life-source that enables them to find joy and peace and passion? 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (for He will provide all I need). He makes me lay down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. And even if (or should I say when) I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod (used to defend) and your staff (used to guide and rescue) comfort me. 

Did you know that joy and sorrow can be experienced simultaneously? That Happiness (for the most part) is a choice, and that God can be found even in the tough times? I know it... and I pray that He will help me learn to trust Him so that I also know it.