Stuck in Saturday

July 29

I tell you the truth … you will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

John 16:20

Penny lay awake, the heartache tonight not much less than a year ago. She

hadn’t slept much since Richard had died.

Married only six months, Richard had died when his car skidded on a

patch of ice. The vehicle had gone over the guardrail above a deep gorge, roll-

ing several times before coming to rest at the bottom. It had been several hours

before he was found, and it had taken several more to remove him from the

wreckage; he’d lived for two days before succumbing to his injuries.

Penny was numb, yet her brain never shut down. She rarely went a full

ten minutes without it all playing back in her mind: the scene at the trauma

center, the two days in ICU, the funeral, and the emptiness. It seemed her life

was stuck on replay.

Penny cried out to God for answers, answers that probably wouldn’t relieve

the ache or make this any easier.

Family and friends felt she was stuck in her grief. They continued to min-

ister to her in love, praying that her outlook would brighten, bringing this

profound grief to an end.

h

Anyone who has lost a loved one or a friend knows the depth of Penny’s heart-

ache. Their absence creates a hole in us that refuses to be refilled; we’ve lost

someone so precious that to think otherwise would feel like betrayal.

Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, did what He could to reassure His

disciples of His resurrection. But on Good Friday nothing could take away the

sting, the shock, or the pain in their chests. And all day Saturday they tried

unsuccessfully to console themselves.

Then came Sunday!

The truth is if we live long enough, we will experience Penny’s pain. If we

love deeply, we will grieve the same way. But someday our grief will turn to joy.

It’s Jesus’ resurrection that keeps us from getting stuck in Saturday.

Death came on Friday, resurrection on Sunday, but there was a very long

day in between. It’s okay to grieve. But do it with hope.

Prayer

“Give us strength to walk on in the pain, Lord. Thank You

that, because of Jesus, this pain will turn to joy. Amen.”

 In My Time

July 28

Look up at the heavens and count the stars … so shall your offspring be.

Genesis 15:5

In the midst of doubt, Shane still knew God was there. But that didn’t bring

much comfort right now. Having stepped out in faith, Shane was still awaiting

the manifestation of God’s promise. “Answer this call and I will sustain you.

Trust Me.”

Shane had answered the call. Yet it was going on seven months and there

was no evidence of God’s provision. His financial situation was getting desper-

ate. Bills were overdue; he was stressed out; his faith was being tested. “I can’t

do this much longer, Lord!” he shouted.

Shane didn’t doubt God’s leading. Yet for him to be struggling like this

didn’t make sense. It felt as if he were missing something God was trying to

tell him.

“I don’t believe this is what You promised, Lord. If I’m missing something,

please show me what it is.” He was completely perplexed. “I refuse to give up!”

he shouted. “But I need some direction here, Lord.” Shane listened into the

silence that followed. No answer came.

Deciding to wait no matter how long it took God to show up, he wearily

said, “You know, Lord, I get a sense of what Abraham and Sarah must have felt

like when they doubted Your promise.”

h

Seven months is a bit short of Abraham’s twenty-year wait; but doubt is doubt,

and many of us have walked in faith with doubt as a close companion. God

understands and continues to guide us, like Abraham, to a place of complete

dependence on Him.

Abraham failed this test of faith by having Hagar bear Ishmael. Yet God,

in His infinite mercy, kept His promise, and Sarah bore Isaac.

And so it is with us: we fail and God remains faithful.

God is looking for a heart of obedience, completely turned to Him, a

heart that will wait for His perfect timing, serving as though they had already

received the promise.

As we draw closer to God, we realize that great faith comes by overcom-

ing great doubt. God says, “I have given you My promise; will you wait for it

in My time?”

Prayer

“Strengthen my resolve to trust You, Lord. Guide me

into an unshakable faith. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Point of Impact

July 27

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.

Philippians 3:15

Mark Pendleton was forty-something, slightly built, and showing signs of

balding. Yet there was a quiet confidence about him that caused people to take

a second look.

Proceeding with his demonstration, Mark shared that as a young man he’d

gotten into trouble. Then a friend had introduced him to Jesus, and he began

learning about God’s plan for his life.

Through the martial arts, God taught Mark where to direct his attention

in matters of importance and how to harness the strength necessary to demol-

ish any obstacles the enemy placed in his way.

“In order to break these blocks,” Mark explained, “I must first establish

the correct point of impact, then visualize my punch reaching that point. To be

successful, I must focus on the bottom of the stack. I visualize the completed

punch having reached a point at which the blocks will have broken.”

The crowd watched as Mark began his mental focus routine. Standing two

feet behind the blocks, Mark slowly rotated his fist, driving his arm and shoul-

ders in a downward, slow motion punch to the bottom of the stack. When he

was finished with his preparation, Mark stepped up to the blocks, and with a

loud “hiya,” he executed one more punch, completely shattering all six blocks!

h

As we mature, we set out to make our mark on society. Many of us succeed,

obtaining goal after goal, never looking back.

In contrast, many of us fall short of the success we envisioned, hopelessly

lost in failure. For the vast majority of us, it’s because our goals were not set

correctly, and our point of impact was unclear. In order to successfully reach

our intended goal, we must determine the correct point of impact.

Paul told the Philippians to forget their past failures and press on. We too

must forget the past and set new goals.

Wisdom suggests we set attainable goals in order to not become discour-

aged. Then we must visualize completion of the goal. Most importantly, we

must rely on God’s strength and instruction when determining the point of

impact.

Prayer

“Lord, guide me along life’s path and help me

look for the right point of impact within my

realm of influence. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Don’t Gloat

July 26

Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles do not let

your heart rejoice.

Proverbs 24:17

“What did I tell you about taking pleasure in other people’s misfortune?” Steve

posed the question to his daughter, Karla. “Phil works hard providing for his

family. And now that he’s lost his job, they’ll have a rough go of it.”

“I don’t care how rough they have it!” Karla said vehemently. “He’s a jerk,

Daddy. I can’t believe you’re taking his side after what he did to Sheila,” she

spat.

“Listen, Karla, I don’t approve of your attitude or how he treated Sheila

when he broke up with her. She’s my little girl just like you, and it hurt when

that happened. But that was fifteen years ago. You need to forgive him and let

God work it out,” he advised. “It’s just as wrong for you to gloat over him los-

ing his job as it was for him to cheat on Sheila. It bothers me to see you taking

pleasure in his family’s suffering.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy. But he’s still a jerk!” was all she would say.

“You know, Karla, sometimes I wonder what you’re thinking. I’m your

father, not your judge. But you profess to have a heart of forgiveness, yet when

someone you dislike encounters problems, you find it amusing. That’s not how

God wants us to respond. And remember, what goes around comes around.”

“I’ll take my chances,” she said and left the room.

h

It’s tempting and natural to take pleasure in the misfortune of our enemy. It’s

also wrong. We are to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. A

true test of forgiveness is not in forgiving someone with whom we have a good

relationship, but rather, when it is someone we dislike.

It’s easy to find satisfaction when someone we dislike has fallen on hard

times. That’s why God instructs us not to gloat when it happens. He asks us

to have a spirit of forgiveness and leave retribution, if any is required, to Him.

Prayer

“Help me forgive my enemies, Lord. Teach me to put the

past behind me and look to bring healing to their lives

instead of rejoicing in their pain. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Take Time to Laugh

July 25

A time to laugh …

Ecclesiastes 3:4

Lindsay walked through the front door and did a double take. Jack never leaves

the house looking like this, she thought; there were dirty dishes on the kitchen

counter, the stove, and in the sink. Two comforters lay haphazardly on the liv-

ing room carpet, and dirty clothes littered the laundry room floor. She’d only

been gone for one day! This was completely uncharacteristic of Jack. He’s got

some explaining to do, she thought.

Setting aside her briefcase and hanging her coat on the wall peg, she set

out to find her husband.

As she headed down the hall toward the toy room, she caught muffled

laughter. Curious, she silently made her way to the room and stood outside

the closed door, listening. Beth! She smiled as she recognized her youngest

daughter’s squeal.

“Stop, Daddy! Quit tickling me!” Then Jenny’s laugh joined the mix, fol-

lowed by Jack’s gruff voice. “The tickling continues until you both surrender!”

“We surrender! We surrender!” they said in unison.

As Lindsay listened, her heart began to melt. It thawed completely when

Jenny said, “Thanks for playing with us today, Daddy! This has been the bestest

day ever!” “Yeah, Daddy, the bestest!” Beth agreed.

All the irritation vanished in light of the truth: some things are more

important than a spotless home.

h

There truly is a time for every season and activity. Housework is important; but

so is laughter! Our children are only young once, and many opportunities to

teach them the importance of spending time doing the right thing at the right

time vanish with their youth.

When teachable moments present themselves, we must seize the oppor-

tunity to teach and instruct and not allow the moment to slip away because we

were too busy being busy.

Being too rigid will find us standing on the wrong side of many issues.

Not only will it bring dissention among the ranks, but our children and their

children will ultimately pay the price. Lighten up and laugh a little. The work

will still be there when the laughter fades.

Prayer

“Lord, keep me from being too busy when it’s time

to laugh. Reset the attitude of my heart so I will

recognize what time it is. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 So, What Do You Think?

July 24

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life

of God because of … ignorance.

Ephesians 4:18

Gwen’s transformation from atheism to Christianity began in a local coffee bar

when an engaging young man named Britt asked her, “So, what do you think is

going to happen to you when you die?”

Gwen had given him the answer she’d used hundreds of times to defend

her position. “I will cease to exist, end of story.”

A few espressos later, Britt had convinced Gwen to attend church with

him the following Sunday. She heard the gospel message in a way that made

sense. And for the first time she began to doubt her position. She began to pray

and asked God to reveal Himself.

Britt challenged her to read the Bible. Within two weeks, Gwen became

convinced there was a God, and she wanted to know Him. Giving her life to

Christ had been life-changing. Having a new perspective on eternity, Gwen

felt an urgency to share her newfound faith with those who had shared her

ungodly skepticism. She now realized that the alternative to not asking the

tough question was eternal death for those with whom she had shared her

ignorance. Though she felt a twinge of fear each time, she refused to allow it

to stop her from asking each one, “So, what do you think is going to happen to

you when you die?”

h

Sharing our faith can be confrontational. The truth is most of us don’t like

confrontation. The other side of the coin is having the knowledge we asked the

question and gave someone an opportunity to say yes to Jesus. If we don’t ask

them the question, who will? This is not someone else’s job.

Approximately 150,000 people die each day worldwide, many of them

never knowing Christ for lack of someone asking them the tough question.

If this Jesus we follow and trust with our eternal lives is Who He says He

is and Who we believe He is, how can we allow the question to go unasked?

Prayer

“Lord, I know I will survive the embarrassment and

discomfort of sharing my faith with unbelievers. May

I find the courage to take as many people to heaven

with me as I can. In Jesus’ mighty Name, amen!”

 Daddy’s Charge

July 23

So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of

the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the

commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good

land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.

1 Chronicles 28:8

As they circled the dance floor, he held her close. His little girl had grown too

fast. He felt so blessed, so proud of who she had become. He was feeling the

separation that comes when our children come of age. Beautiful beyond words,

she smiled a tear-filled smile, Daddy’s girl all the way! The dance ended too

soon. Roles had changed in less than an hour. He had gone from provider and

protector to sometimes advisor and prayerful encourager—advisor only when

solicited.

He thought back to the ceremony when he’d charged his new son, “Today,

I present to you my daughter. I charge you with the nurturing love of a mother

and the fearless protection of a father. May you be strong when necessary and

gentle in times of tears. And may God bless this union.”

Back in the present, he thought, Funny how life screams by at light-speed

when it involves our children. He caught his wife’s knowing smile over the

crowd. He was pretty sure she was saying, “Now you know how my dad felt.”

He had a new perspective.

h

Responsibility brings with it promise. In this text’s pronouncement, Israel, if

they followed God’s commands, would inherit the land set aside for them for

all generations.

We are to not only follow God’s commands, but to faithfully instruct our

offspring. They are to be nurtured, able to leave us, moving into the next season

of their lives. We are charged with calling them to accountability.

As with the father in this story, we are to charge those who inherit the

care of those entrusted to us. We are not to do this with ambiguity. We are to

actively speak truth of responsibility to the next generation.

Prayer

“You charge us this day, to follow Your commands, Lord.

Teach us to be faithful in response to that responsibility

as we follow Your leading. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”