Surrounded

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

Psalm 32:10

All around me

encircled and trapped

in my circumstances

I have no map

I feel limited

and afraid

Yet You surround me

enfolded and wrapped

in Your protection

though strength is tapped

I feel well guarded

and safe

Sorrow and fear

were what I knew

in a loss

as to what to do

yet I trusted

and was saved

Steadfast love

flew straight from You

to comfort, strengthen

as I grew

to bigger belief

and firm faith

Grace and love

became my bright wall

looking up

I saw that all

that befell me

led lovingly to You

my heart’s desire

May he grant you your heart's desire

and fulfill all your plans!

Psalm 20:4

When we trust God… when we refuse to think like everyone else around us who would trust in worldly means and personal might, God will align our desires with His and grant us what our hearts want most. And no matter what season of life we may journey, we can trust in the Lord our God.

In Psalm 20 David as king over Israel refused to believe that military might alone would ever keep Israel safe. This is a big admission for a warrior king! But David was not one to trust in his war chariots and horses. He would trust in God because he knew that worldly power would collapse before the sovereign purposes of God. Israel’s only chance at standing safe and secure was to trust in the name of the Lord their God (Psalm 20:7-8). And only in that trust could plans be made!

O Lord,

You must be my trust, now and for always. My heart desires some things right now that seem so impossible. My plans, basically shattered, need to be reborn, infused with Your gracious love for me, in Your time. But as confusing as it is, I do confidently know this: Your purposes will guide me as I lean back into Your mighty arms. I refuse to trust in the chariots and horses around me. I will not take a whimsical, perhaps fatal, step away from Your Word and Spirit’s leading. I will instead soak my soul in scripture. I will seek Your wisdom over time. I will counsel only with Your people. I will seek wise perspective among my family in the Body of Christ. And I will wait for the wisdom that only You give to shape my desires so they may align solely with what is holy, focused sharply on Your kingdom, for I am convinced that only there will I be truly happy. May I come to see my desires easily granted Lord, not so that my wants can be appeased, but rather because I have been transformed to want what You want in my life and then to thrive as I find my satisfaction in You in the place You have lovingly positioned me for Your glory.

Amen

Why I will fear the Lord

Who is the man who fears the LORD?

Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

Psalm 25:12

If I want to know which way to go, I must start in the fear of the Lord. I must value the steadfast love of God for me because all His paths are faithfulness (Psalm 25:10). I must seek God’s wisdom, obey His Word, love His commands, and trust Him above what my own heart screams and demands right now. The person who fears the Lord is given secured promises because God rewards humble faith well, for God is good and upright (Psalm 25:8). He can be nothing else. God wants to do a lot for me if I would just look only to Him. I believe this.

What will God instruct and teach me if only I would center my focus upon Him? 

He will grant me wisdom. And right now I crave His wisdom in what can sometimes feel like an overwhelming situation of baffling new choices. I will wait for the gift of His wisdom. He has promised to instruct me in the right way. He will lead me to the choices that will honor Him, conforming me more to Christ (I am so distant still), and helping me find true fulfillment in His provision for me.

He will help me to experience true well-being (Psalm 25:13a). I want, not just to exist, but to thrive. I want to rest in His care and presence no matter where I am in my life. I want to know His goodness is always for me, always supporting me, always growing me in a direction that will bring praise to the God I fear.

He will be my legacy (Psalm 25:13b). My life’s fruit, both physical and spiritual, will bear witness to an inheritance only God, through Christ, has given me. It is a wealth beyond description, and whatever I leave behind in this life, I wish to solely point to God as the great Giver.

He will be my friend (Psalm 25:14). This is the over-the-top reward of fearing God. Like a sneak attack kiss, it catches me off-guard in the text, but is the warmest part of the experience. We don’t fear God by being scared of God. Instead, we respect Him as our deepest friendship. I desire most to keep gaining an intimacy with the Almighty that leads me ever closer to my Lord. Jesus called His disciples “friends”, and this is always what I want to crave, to seek, to know. It is what my heart cries for most right now, even as other things want to confuse my affections. My life is certainly blessed with so many caring companions, so many people whom God has given to express His love for me. And since this year has begun, God has moved so many to care so much. But not one person among scores of people who love me can compare to my Eternal Friend Who gave Himself for me, the One Who reveals Himself in His Word and providential care (even now in the hardest providence I have ever known). O Lord God, always be my heart’s dearest love!

when we center on Jesus

And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Luke 24:52-53

This was the response of the apostles after Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection. In their response we see them continuing in a relationship with Jesus even as He is now gone from them. And from this we see how we should respond as disciples who follow Jesus right now.

Worship. The first response of a follower of Jesus is to worship Him. He has saved us. He died for us. He is risen from the dead. He gives us life. He commands us in following Him to help make disciples of others. And all of that is in a context of worship. One of the key things disciples do is gather in worship. We gather to know Him, to praise Jesus, to learn from His Word, and to encourage one another as we follow Jesus.

Joy. The life of a disciple is NOT dull drudgery. It is not the tyranny of religious rules. It not mere checklist following, looking down our noses in judgment of others, or mournful sin shaming. Jesus brings joy! He wants us to know life in Him “to the full”. It is all an outrageously fun adventure. If not…. Well then personally… I’m out! A disciple’s life is the ultimate in fulfillment… a wonderful joy in Jesus that goes beyond the worst losses and pains life may throw at us. Jesus is our joy. Even though He is not physically among us, His joy is. And every gathering of believers should stoke that joy! Which leads to the third response…

Gathered Community. The first disciples, when Jesus was absent, instantly became a gathered group around His teachings. They began meeting at the temple… it appears from here, and in Acts, it was a daily experience. Christians need community. We aren’t solo artists. We are a big, loving, slightly messy, always together, diverse and beautiful band! At the center of each gathering is blessing Jesus, believing and celebrating the gospel, and blessing one another. We receive blessing in the Word, in song, in praise, in the sweet fellowship of the saints. We know one another, mess and all, and love one another as Christ loves us, mess and all! And in these ways we KNOW Jesus is with us, even as He now is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

breakfast with Jesus

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

John 21:12

I love this resurrection appearance of Jesus as John records it. It is a call back to all the times Jesus spent with His disciples. They did life together. They are back in Galilee, by the lake, much like when many of them were first called to follow Him.

The guys had spent all night trying to catch fish (commercially… and unsuccessfully). Jesus calls out to them to cast the net one more time to the right of the boat. The net was so full that they had to close it up alongside the boat and drag it back to shoreline. And when the net did get emptied, they had quite a fish story to tell! 153 lunker fish caught in that one cast of the net. My guess is it was the biggest single haul any of these men had ever known. And after that astonishment, they ate breakfast on the shore, their fishermen’s pride quite satisfied.

Here is Jesus, resurrected Lord, Author of our Salvation, Destroyer of Death’s dominance, and He has built a fire and prepared for them a meal of grilled fish and bread. He is concerned with the physical needs of His disciples. He prepares and shares a meal for them. Jesus, King of the Universe, in simple hospitality and love for these men, stooped to serve once more. It is a beautiful picture. Jesus wants to serve His disciples, even as they must now learn to transition to living their entire lives for His gospel and will be literally giving their lives up for Him. Every man on that shoreline, laughing, breaking bread, and eating fish, amazed at a net full of fish, would eventually suffer martyrdom in bringing the gospel to their world. All, but John, who would survive several attempts at murder, only to be exiled to die alone on Patmos, but not before writing this gospel story down and communicating the vision that is the Book of Revelation. But in that shoreline freeze frame moment, there is Jesus, bread, fish, and the joy of companionship together knowing Jesus is risen just as He said.

The Lord Who calls us to serve Him with our lives will always stoop to be with us around our fires. He will provide for our daily bread (and fish). We know that He is the Lord, and as we serve Him, His grace will serve us and fill our nets in so many ways. We too are tenderly cared for each day of our lives by our Triumphant Savior!

Jesus revealed

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

Luke 24:21

Two men walking to Emmaus

talking with each other

about what happened to Jesus

and He drew near to them

Three men walking to Emmaus

two did not know

the third was Jesus

they were kept from recognizing Him

Up spoke one man, Cleopas,

spoke of what happened in Jerusalem

how their hoped Messiah, Jesus,

was crucified, devastating them

And furthermore “some women amazed us”

with a story of an empty tomb

finding no body of Jesus

— a vision of angels given to them

The Stranger answered on the road to Emmaus

beginning from Moses to the Prophets

it was necessary for Jesus

to suffer these things happening to Him

Three men sat down for dinner in Emmaus

and taking the bread in blessing

two of them recognized Jesus

then smiling — He left them

“Did not our hearts burn within us

while He talked from the scriptures

on the road to Emmaus?”

They found the others and told them

There on the road to Emmaus

The Savior revealed what all scripture said

that every page points to Jesus

so we can find life in Him

Her teacher spoke her name.

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

John 20:16

Mary’s personal witness of Jesus after His resurrection is beautifully powerful. It is personally one of my favorite episodes in all of the gospels. She alone is given the gift of a first conversation with Jesus after His work is complete. She had been the bravest of His disciples. She was the first person there on that Sunday morning to find the empty tomb according to John’s gospel. She ran back to tell all the rest of the disciples. Her thrill (and her fear) are in this surprise. Peter and John foot race back and peered into an empty tomb. Incredulity seems to be their reaction. Mary returned after they left. She alone is there. Overcome with emotion, not quite believing that He could be risen, she weeps at what feels like to her even more tragedy.

This time as she looked into the tomb, two angels greeted her. She still believes someone must have moved Jesus’ body. All she wanted to do was to care for him by proper anointing. Turning around she is greeted by a man she thinks is a caretaker for the garden. Assuming Jesus had been moved to another nearby tomb, she asks this man to show her to the body. With the mere speaking of her name, “Mary”, Jesus transforms her understanding. She recognizes Jesus and in joy embraces her Lord. Her weeping, confusion, and fear are all gone at the powerful realization that Her Lord, who knew her by name, is alive! Her Teacher is alive! Her Savior tenderly turned her tears into joy again, all by simply saying her name as only He could.

A risen Jesus also stands today to be our Rabboni… our tender Teacher. He longs for our tears also to turn to joy. He gave Himself for us so that our happiness, combined with His holiness, could truly be complete in worship of Him. He has risen from the dead so that death no longer reigns in harsh tyranny over us. Our Teacher, Savior, and loving Lord is our life. And in joy known only in Him and by Him, no tomb can keep us from His joyful presence. He walked away from His tomb to love us. And He has assured by His resurrection that our graves will open a door where He will stand to greet us by name. That is the comfort and confidence Christians can have in the gospel!