In the book of John, Jesus tells His disciples that He is the way to the Father, the way to eternal life. He said He would be leaving them soon, but that they should not be troubled. He was going to make a place for them.

Jesus told the disciples that no one comes to the Father except through Him and that they had seen the Father because God is in Him and He is in the Father and doing the Father’s work.

Jesus is the way to the Father. The Father is in Jesus and Jesus in Him. This is a beautiful, tender passage, the moment when Jesus reveals to His disciples His great mission—to reconcile them with God, and that in fact, He is God.  I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.   I AM

God wants me in heaven with Him so much, He loves me so much, that He sent His Son to walk the earth and die in my place.  Believing in Him I am saved, reconciled and live eternally with Him.  I won’t let my heart be troubled, I will trust God and trust Jesus. They are preparing a place for me.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.  John 14:2-3

In the freezing winter I was often drawn to the pond by interesting designs in the ice. Suspended bubbles, cracks and  funnel-like divots made the pond a cold, unworldly slab of art. This day I stood musing over a waving snowman when a murky edge of orange beneath the ice caught my eye. There as still as a stone was a turtle, seemingly frozen in time under my feet. I slid my sole over it, begging it to move, but it remained motionless in its watery quiescence.

As truly as I was the one frolicking above him, I have, as well, been the one lurking beneath, feeling hopeless and cold. They say one should never break the ice to pull a turtle from its winter doze. It slows and adapts to the cold water which buffers it and will die in the freezing air. God designed that to keep the turtle alive until spring.

As He designed the turtle to withdraw, He designed me to receive–His hope, His comfort, His provision. Even in my depression and bleakness, God is there buffering me. I may not see Him there above me, but He is surely there. I only need to open fully to Him and receive His warmth. He melts my trance. He is my hope, He is my praise.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 43:5

I couldn’t help but notice on my walks that God’s creation runs pretty nicely all by itself. The trees achieve their heights, the snows still the breadth. The squirrels never tucker gathering and planting the treasure, and the birds do their singing and nesting with grace and quirk, as only His birds can.

Turkeys thrive in my parks. I saw chicks pecking the fields and a hen strictly leading them away from my camera.  A gobbler strutted his masculine spectrum in a crosswalk one day, so robust and incongruous, doing exactly what he was meant to do, despite the cars and pavement. Creation flourishes, continually executing what God conceived. The days and seasons unfold seamlessly, fulfilling each moment, purpose and plan.

I can too. I am creation. I have a Creator. I am equipped with everything good. I can reach like a tree, embrace like the snow, gather and sow like the squirrels, sing and nurture like a bird. In His moments, God reveals my burgeoning course. May He work in me what is pleasing in His sight.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.            Hebrews 13:20-21

Nehemiah was a man of God who worked as a cupbearer for the Persian king. His heart was heavy about Jerusalem, its wall had been in shambles for many years. He prayed to God concerning the wall and began to make a plan to rebuild it. The king looked favorably upon Nehemiah and gave him permission and help to execute his work.

Nehemiah worked hard to coordinate and finish the great project. They faced many difficulties along the way, but God was with them and the wall was built in just 52 days. The completion of Jerusalem’s wall was a great feat exemplifying God’s faithfulness. Nehemiah’s work glorified God’s love for His people. People saw Jerusalem’s wall and knew that God was with them.

God wants to further His kingdom. When I work with Him and for Him, He works with me. That doesn’t mean that problems won’t arise, it means that God will show a way through them, as only He can. All the more evidence to witnesses that God’s hand is upon the work, blessing it.  Nehemiah’s heart was for God, he dedicated his talents for God’s good work and God made a way for his success!

I also told them of the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let’s start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. Nehemiah 2:18

“But you’re so calm and relaxed, nothing bothers you.” I have heard this so many times. Not everyone who feels anxious acts like it. Some go inward and hold anxiety deep down inside, churning quietly, trying to appear calm and settled. Unfortunately, focusing on outer appearances only aggravated the problem and pulled my attention away from the truth that soothes my soul.

This year of walking with God brought me true peace, a peace I had never known. Sure, the waves come and the wind blows, but God always provides the shelter, the nourishing stillness, the affirmation that nothing can truly shake what is His—and I am His. His Spirit resides in my soul. All the rest is immaterial, or material, as it were.

Anxiety is of that stuff, the material stuff. It forms when I align with the outer and not the holy. It grows when I believe I must be worldly instead of Godly. Anxiety cannot be of God. Anxiety is fear and God is grace.  I began some walks feeling anxious but always left blessed with peace.  When God walks with me, there is nothing to fear, no reason to worry.  In His transcendence, I transcend.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  Romans 8:5-6

I ran track in high school. The 400 meter was my race, a tough, all-out sprint, once around the track. The first time my coach told me I was going to run this race, I asked him for tips. He pointed out to the track and told me to start out quick around the first curve, stride it out fast on the backstretch and really kick it in strong at the end. Okay, I thought, fast, faster and then really fast! Standing on the line, my eyes fixed in my lane, I poured it on.

Once a runner is engaged in her race, no thoughts, no commotion on the track, no outcries from onlookers will halt her stride or move her gaze. There is one finish line at the end of her lane and that is where she will arrive. No need to look to the right or left or wonder who may be before or behind her. She fixes her eyes straight ahead and runs.

I always wanted to make Coach Eck proud. A good coach supports, inspires and makes clear the path to success for his athletes.  Eck was a coach we could look up to. How much more can I look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, for the endurance and perseverance to run the race He sets before me? How much more insignificant the distractions and doubts falling away behind me? I will focus on Jesus and run to His glory.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

 

What would life be without knowing the Almighty God, Jesus my Savior and the Holy Spirit who dwells and moves within me? What ultimate meaning would it hold? What sacred purpose could be reached? I have lived seasons in that obscurity and returned to truth, God stirring and calling within me.

The weeds in my garden are knee high today, the morning glories are strangling the sunflowers. There are horrific stories in the news. My sugar addiction is flaring, my son is in pain, two friends lie in the hospital. Our bedroom is waiting empty to be painted, the bathroom gutted for years. What will I make for dinner? Did the postman deliver my flip flops?

A highly abbreviated list, these are the circumstances of my day, the matters of my mind. These elements of life swell quickly into waves that crash against my legs, and push me further away from the quiet world from which they rise. In that place there is clarity and peace, leagues and leagues deep. It is where God stirs in me, prompting me to mind His ways, serve His plan, align with His order. He works in me there and breathes in me calmness and purpose.

I stop to listen, receive and fill with Him instead.  With Him in me, I can welcome the waves and serenely find my place in them.

The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.  Job 33:4

Why am I repeatedly astonished at the way God works? I have a problem, I pray to Him, I give it to Him, I wait for Him, and He does something amazing. And I am surprised? Why would I be surprised at the miraculous ways God works? I should anticipate it with joy and thanksgiving!

There is a story in Acts about Peter, a disciple who had been sharing the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was thrown in prison by Herod, King of the Jews and aggressor toward those of the church. When they heard that he had been imprisoned, people of the church gathered to pray for Peter, who sat waiting for trial guarded by 16 soldiers.

The night before his trial, an angel of the Lord came to free Peter, chained and sleeping between two guards. He walked out of the prison with the angel, past the many guards, and went to the home where the people were still praying for his release. When he knocked, a young servant girl recognized him and told the others that Peter was at the door. None of them believed her, they told her she was out of her mind. Peter was knocking as they sat praying for his release and when they saw him with their own eyes, they were astonished.

I want to pray brimming with awe and anticipation of my amazing God. He answers me with great and awesome things.

 

Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.  Acts 13:16-17

I was home alone at night, 12 years old, when King came to my rescue again. There was a knock at the back door and I went to the dining room window to peer out. A young man stood on the porch and he asked me if he could come in and use the phone. I told him that I was alone and didn’t think I should let him in. He kept asking, trying to convince me that he needed to make a call. I hemmed and hawed, bending close to the screen, trying to muster the strength to say, “No.”

Suddenly I realized that King was in the mud room, growling and jumping at the back door.  Knowing he was there for me provided the courage I needed.  “My dog will not let you into my house,” I uttered with authority.  The young man turned and walked down the steps. I watched him walk away under the street lights, never stopping at another house.

I need only say the name of Jesus and my enemies will scatter. He is there always, His power at the ready for me to declare it. When I look back at that incident, I am sorry for the little girl who could not find the strength to stand up to a strange man and I shudder to think of the outcome had King not been there. My God, however, is always with me. I am His and He is mine. When I stand firm in His name, I am saved.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:13

It’s important for me to continually look forward to the life of grace Christ has provided for me. Do I believe that Christ has reconciled me to Himself? Do I believe that He makes all things new? Yes, and therefore, I am in Christ—the old has gone away and the new is here! I must honor what He has done, claim it and rejoice in it!

There is a story in Genesis about a man named Lot who lived with his family in a wicked city. Two angels visited the city and Lot hosted them in his home. The angels had come to warn Lot that the Lord was going to destroy the city and everyone in it. As the evil outside his door inflamed, the angels told Lot and his family to run far from the city to avoid its imminent destruction. They were told to keep running until they were in the mountains and not look back.

Lot’s family ran, but his wife looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt. Had she not let go of her past life? Did she fear the unknown future and long for the familiar? Whatever the reason, she lingered and did not claim the new life she had been gifted. She was left there in her deadly indecision, forever stuck between a place of promise and a past of fire and brimstone.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.  2 Corinthians 5:17-19