Happy Independence Day

[Judy Harder]

A Psalm

"But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill." - Psalm 3:3-4

It's impossible to adequately summarize the richness and breadth contained in the book of Psalms. It was Israel's hymnbook, containing songs of praise to God. It also contains the cries of God's people in difficult situations. And it was a prayer book for Israel. The psalmists looked to God in moments of private despair, in times of national suffering, and in joyous mountain-top moments.

The Psalms are for us right now, today. They are brimming with honest emotion. Through them you can learn to pour out your anguish and your adoration, your suffering and confession, your hopes and your fears. Through them you feel safe asking God why he has or hasn't acted in a certain way. Through others you might express your pain, heartache, and discouragement. Through still others you may praise God as he frees you from oppression and sin. Each psalm is an expression of the heart. None of them are neat little packages of answers tied up with pretty bows. They are living words, a collection of spiritual diaries from people who honestly sought God's help and His heart.

Do you need spiritual direction or encouragement? The Psalms can function as deterrents to keep you out of trouble, guides to help you through problems, reminders of the one who actually delivers you, or as beacons of hope to encourage you in perplexing or painful situations. Read the Psalms and be ushered into the very presence of your loving and merciful God. You'll be glad you did!

"The hot water is to remain upon the tea no longer than whiles you can say The Miisere Psalm very leisurely." - Kenelm Digby (1603-1665)

[Judy Harder]

The Beauty of Pain

News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and paralyzed, and he healed them. - Matthew 4:24

Pain is something most of us try to avoid, at all costs. It's the reason some of us are trapped in addictions and hate the thought of each new day. But pain is also one of the best things that God allows in our lives. Pain is a great motivator. It lets you know that there is something that you need to pay attention to. It lets you know when doing things your way no longer works. It's a tool that when used to your benefit will redirect your life.

But in that redirection, you have a choice. You can chose to cover the pain to treat the symptom and never treat the cause. Or you can do a little work, find the cause, and deal with it once and for all.   

You might continue in life with the pain, like a pointed stick poking at your spirit, but never doing anything about it. But that pain is telling you to back up, take an inventory of your actions and attitudes, to make amends with someone, to seek help from someone who's been there before or has experience you don't have. It's also telling you that God is in charge, and you're not. 

So, accept pain as your friend. Make the choice to deal with the root issue, and not just the resulting pain. When the issue is dealt with, the pain will subside. Pain is part of your healing, but if you deal with it wisely, it will lead to a road of freedom and a pathway of lasting joy.

"Pain is short and joy is eternal." -J. C. F. Von Schiller (1759-1805)

[Judy Harder]

The Deserts of Life

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. - Hosea 2:14

The Old Testament book of Hosea is a beautiful story of the depths of God's love for His people. The short version is this: Hosea was directed by God to marry a prostitute named Gomer. Even though Hosea knew before hand that she would be unfaithful, he won her back with unconditional love.

It was a picture of the nation Israel, who time and time again prostituted itself in disobedience to God. But each time, God would love her and bring her back into the fold. But more importantly to us today, it's a picture of each of us. We run from God. We sell ourselves for the pleasures of the flesh. We prostitute ourselves spiritually. Yet God still loves us and takes us back each and every time.  It's amazing, but it's true . . . God is a God of second chances.

The above passage in Hosea refers to leading her into the desert to speak tenderly to her there. Boy did that jump out at me! When I have an experience that leads me into the desert, it's a feeling of desolation and desertion. I start to believe that Jesus isn't there, that he just left the building. But the reality of it is that God put me there at that exact place and time so I can hear from him. Sometimes God wants us all to Himself, with no distractions, so he can talk to us . . . speak tenderly to us. 

In order to listen to someone speaking tenderly to you, you have to be quiet . . . you have to be still. If it takes leading you to the desert, God will do that. When he does, listen!

"Gentlemen, listen to me slowly." - Samuel Goldwyn (1882-1974)

[Judy Harder]

The Eyes of Your Heart

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. - Ephesians 1:18

Going through difficult times, if it does nothing else for you and to you, will open the eyes of your heart. Walking through troubled waters is one way that God has of shifting your vision. When your heart breaks, there's an avenue for God's compassion to trickle in and envelop your heart with His. You'll begin to look at others through the eyes of your heart and not through the eyes of quick judgment, harsh conclusions, or self-interest. 

Your trip to the grocery store, to church, to Wal-Mart or Starbucks will take on a new hue. You'll look at people and wonder what their story is; what their childhood was like; what caused them to be so happy or unhappy, why they seem this way or that.

Their job titles will be less important, their type of car won't impress you, what kind of clothes they wear, or whether they're wrinkled or stylish won't matter any more. You're more likely to understand that they are in some pain and trying to run from it or trying to hide. Or, you'll see their smile and demeanor and wonder if they're truly happy or masking some inner, silent suffering or anger.

Now, you won't get answers to all that you wonder about people and their stories, but your heart will be softened. You'll find that you have a level of compassion that most people don't have. If your heart is broken, let his compassion trickle in to your heart through the brokenness. Let him open the eyes of your heart today.

"What value has compassion that does not take its object in its arms." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944)

[Judy Harder]

The Solitary Role

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. - Psalm 55:13-14

Evan owns a small business with one employee. He prides himself on his precision craftsmanship that keeps a steady stream of customers lined up and waiting. He's been urged to expand his shop and hire more employees, but Evan likes things small and controllable. He doesn't want to grow, because he doesn't want to get in a position where he needs his customers more than they need him. 

Evan has the same attitude about his relationship with his wife. He keeps his thoughts and feelings well hidden because he feels he must act as if he doesn't need anything from her. His wife and children don't feel they know Evan, because he never shares anything from his heart. In addition, he has no close friends.

Evan learned in his upbringing that it's not manly to need anyone. He picked up early in life that his father didn't need him. And by spending more time on his career than with his family, Evan's father conveyed the idea that Evan shouldn't need him either. So Evan grew up feeling that he must face life without any help.

Are you living a solitary life like Evan? Is it okay to be needed by others, but you can't commit to need anyone else? Your choice for solitude and distance are depriving you of your basic needs for love, relationship, and intimacy. The longer you play the solitary role, the greater your loss. You were made to need and be needed. Don't be afraid to connect.

"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself."- Henry Ford (1863-1947)

[Judy Harder]

The Detached Role

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. - Romans 12:9

Tom's a clerk in a hectic government office. In the midst of all the daily pressures, he's regarded as one of the most even-tempered workers in the department. He's quiet, efficient, and never seems to get riled at his impatient coworkers or those visiting his office.

Tom spends his energy herding his emotions because he feels they're his enemy. Deep inside he believes that his father didn't like him as a boy because he was too much of a crybaby and a "fraidy-cat." Since he perceives that he lost his father by being too much of a sissy, Tom isn't about to expose his emotions as an adult. His controlled emotional detachment also keeps him aloof from his wife. In the past, whenever Tom showed any signs of being troubled, angry, or fearful, she'd ask him what was wrong. But his usual response was a curt, "Nothing!" So, she learned not to ask.

Detached people like Tom find it difficult to live out the values they profess because they ignore their heart, which is the center from which values come. Often a detached person will become addicted to work, money, football, alcohol, or drugs.

Are you like Tom? Do you stuff your sense of defeat inside, thinking you should be able to "take it?" Are you emotionally frozen? Perhaps you're so dead inside you have little to give a relation-ship. Is your spouse enduring a frustrating relationship because you insist on suffering your losses alone? You can change. Start by connecting with others. Find a safe person that you can talk to. We were meant for connection, not detachment!

"Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours." -Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

[Judy Harder]

Meaning Beyond Accomplishments

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. - 2 Corinthians 5:5

Rod felt that his life had real meaning when he was an assembly line foreman for an automobile manufacturing plant. Sixteen people on his shift depended on him, and he felt that his work was significant. Without the hoods and trunk lids his team installed, the cars would be incomplete. He was confident that there were few men in the plant who could do his job as skillfully as he did. He knew that if he died suddenly his superiors, coworkers, and family would sorely miss him.

But Rod is now sixty-six. He's retired from the plant and someone just as competent as he was is running the crew. Rod realizes that he's no longer needed on the assembly line. What's more, Rod realizes that his family doesn't need him either. His children are grown and gone. He hears from them briefly on holidays. His wife is in poor health, but a home-care nurse tends to her needs three times a week. And he wonders if anybody will show up at his funeral or miss him when he's gone.

Someone older without a mission in life feels empty, and can eventually feel despondent. If this sounds like you, then you need to find another outlet for your gifts, your skills, your abilities . . .  that will give you a sense of purpose. The stability and maturity of a senior adult is often preferred and needed. How can you be of help in your city, neighborhood, church or even abroad? Check your passions and see how and where you can continue to serve God.

"It is always in season for old men to learn." - Aeschylus ( 525-456 BC)

[Judy Harder]

Prayer

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. - Luke 22:42-3

Have you ever heard someone say, "If you had your act together, you wouldn't be struggling with knowing or following God's will." Don't believe it! It's a common, mistaken belief, and Jesus' own actions teach that this isn't so. 

Jesus' final moments before his crucifixion were spent in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. There he prayed three times. Each prayer was a step in letting go of things that would hold him back so that he could take hold of God's will. The first prayer was an outburst of grief. Jesus shuddered at the chill of death's dark shadow. Prayer seemed his only refuge. 

The second prayer was one of release. Jesus was faced with two choices: If he saved his life, he would lose us. But if he lost his life, he would save us. Christ desired to do the will of his Father, and so he accepted his calling to die for us. 

The third prayer strengthened his resolve. It was like the tempering of steel, in which the refined metal is reheated a second time to increase its strength. As a soldier readies himself for battle or a patient prepares himself for a difficult surgery, so Jesus gathered strength from his Father for the task and left all his anxiety with him.

If Jesus can struggle, then I guess it's o.k. if I do, too.

"Pray often; for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan." - John Bunyan (1628-1688)

[Judy Harder]

Doubt

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief. - Mark 9:24

Distrust or wavering faith is a reality for most of us. But how would you like to be labeled a "doubting Thomas?" Do you ever wonder what it was like for Thomas, Jesus' disciple who became known for his lack of faith? Thomas simply didn't believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. But that's not the end of his story.

Thomas didn't doubt Jesus' resurrection out of fear. He continued to meet with the followers of Jesus in the upper room. He just happened to be absent when the risen Jesus first appeared to them. He wanted some kind of proof that his companions had not just been seeing things. Thomas was given the undeniable evidence he asked for when Jesus appeared a second time, dispelling all his doubts.

Undeniable evidence, however, isn't necessary to begin a life of faith. As a matter of fact, it makes faith unnecessary. Jesus said to Thomas, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway." You too have evidence of the Resurrection. You can experience God's transforming power in your own life. You can overcome your troubling doubts as you continue to trust God to show you his power in your life. 

When Thomas overcame his doubts, he set out on a ministry that exhibited extraordinary faith. As you experience God's deliverance, it will motivate you to minister to others as well. Do you have doubts? If faced honestly, doubt can lead to deeper faith. 

"Doubt can only be removed by action." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

[Judy Harder]

Priorities

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. - Psalm 1:1

"I really don't know what's wrong with me," said forty-two-year-old Tyrone to his counselor. "I've attained many of my personal and business goals. But I'm still breeding ulcers, trying to climb up the ladder. With all my success, I'm still bummed out when someone else beats me to a big sale or a new account. I have a wonderful wife and two great kids, but I kind of feel like an outsider when I'm with them. I'm often around people and have lots of friends. But I don't enjoy it, and I don't think they're really enjoying me. I'm afraid my dark moods are distancing me from the ones I love. But I don't know what to do about it."

Tyrone looks and acts like the American Dream personified. By all outward appearances he's succeeded in the areas of life that really matter in our society: family, friends, career, finance. But like so many men, Tyrone's warm smile and confident exterior mask a deep sadness and uncertainty. He often wonders what's really worthwhile in life. Despite all the trophies he's accumulated indicating he's a winner, he always feels defeated.

Can you relate to Tyrone? The pursuit of the American Dream has left many feeling alone and angry. Why? Because prosperity cannot be measured by money or even family. Who does the Bible teach is prosperous or blessed? Only when you seek to find joy in your Creator and not in His creation, will your soul begin to find significance and true happiness. Stop and assess where you seek your joy.

"God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there." - Billy Graham (1918-    )