COULD YOU PLEASE REPEAT THAT?

COULD YOU PLEASE REPEAT THAT?

I’m usually very diligent, and I knew it was past the time I was supposed to call to schedule an appointment, but I just didn’t feel right about doing it quite yet. But being a bit overzealous about getting things done, I thought probably I should just do it, but I still didn’t feel right about it so I didn’t. Then I asked the Lord if I should call now and He said no. It was a very quiet answer, so I asked him again, and again I felt like he was still saying no. But I just wasn’t sure.

 

So finally, I stopped what I was doing, which was pulling weeds, and I got myself quiet and really focused on my question and asked him directly, “Should I call now? Just give me a yes or a no.”  Well, this time His voice was louder and more stern sounding, not angry but just punctuated! I got the message and immediately stopped thinking about having to make that call today, and my mind relaxed! Phew!

 

I know it’s okay to ask a few times if we’re unsure because James 1:5 says: “If any man of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” What a promise! God doesn’t mind us asking. He gives liberally. The word “liberally” means generously, graciously, and unconditionally (Vine’s).

 

What God doesn’t do is “upbraid” us when we ask for wisdom. “Upbraid” means to criticize, reproach, punish, express disapproval or disappointment with. God doesn’t feel any of those ways towards us even when we repeatedly ask Him. Instead, He always gives us an answer.

 

There are several examples in the Bible where we see that God willingly repeats Himself so that the person gets the clear message. I’ll talk about two of them.

 

In Genesis 41:32, Pharaoh had a dream and he couldn’t find anyone to interpret, so he asked Joseph. Joseph told him that he wasn’t going to make up something, but it was God who would interpret what it really meant.

 

In the dream Pharaoh was given two different analogies of what was going to happen in Egypt. One analogy was with cattle and the other with stalks of corn. “And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, ‘The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shown Pharaoh what he is about to do’” (Gen. 41:25). So in Pharaoh’s dream the two analogies were different ways of saying the same thing. God doubled His message, and He will do that for us too!

 

“And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:32).

 

And another great section of scripture where we see this willingness of God to repeat Himself is in the book of Joshua, where God worked with Joshua after he’d spent days in mourning the death of Moses. “The Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, ‘Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go…’” (Joshua1: 1b-2a). 

 

Then God repeats Himself three times to get Joshua convinced he needed to get up and get going. First in verse 6 “Be strong and of a good courage…” Second in verse 7 “Only be thou strong and very courageous.” Then the third time in verse 9 more emphatically and with some encouragement that Joshua obviously needed: “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whither soever thou goest.”  

 

After God repeated Himself three times, Joshua received in his heart and went into action. He immediately told his people to get food together and get ready because in three days they were to “pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it” (Joshua 1:11).

 

It took three times and extra encouragement to get Joshua to move forward, but when he let it sink into his heart and he believed it, he moved powerfully and fast.

 

God loves us so much that He is willing to let us ask several times for His answer, like He did with me. And He is gracious and kind enough to repeat His messages, to make them clear like with Pharaoh, or to invoke courage and action, like with Joshua.  

 

Love, Carolyn

 

More good truths from God’s Word and how to apply these truths in everyday living—get your copy of WINGS: A Journey in Faith 

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A BRIEF PEEK AT GRIEF

A BRIEF PEEK AT GRIEF

We changed our TV service and can only watch movies now. My roommate, Jane, said: “Carolyn, I gotta tell you, I’m really having a problem with this. I miss not being able to watch baseball.” At that moment, I realized that the loss of anything is like the death of it, and as long as we live on this earth, there’s going to be grief that comes with any loss. Over these months of the COVID virus, we’ve all experienced some form of loss.

To try to ignore the grief is just as wrong as letting ourselves get trapped in it. It’s better to face the loss head-on and admit to it. Different emotional reactions will surface, and we have to let them happen. Then when we can, we move on.

Grieving is a universal phenomenon. There are plenty of studies on sorrow and grief, but there’s still much to be learned about how it works, how long it takes, and the effects it has. The one thing we do know is that it’s a process, and it varies with situations and people.

We can see from the Bible different examples of the grieving process. Signs of grief we find in the Bible include tearing one’s robe, putting dust and ashes into the hair and leaving it a mess, shaving the hair or beard, wearing black, removing jewelry, neglecting physical hygiene, fasting, and wearing sackcloth. Sackcloth was made of goat or camel hair and was course and uncomfortable. One Bible dictionary said that men were generally more silent in grief and women more vocal and demonstrative.

These were things that exhibited in ancient times, but the grieving process hasn’t really changed much over the years. Just one example I can think of is female friends who’ve done something to change the style or color of their hair after a divorce or break-up. I don’t know if it’s even a conscious decision or just part of the inward, inherent grief reaction.

In the Bible, the days of mourning also varied. In the case of Jacob, it was 70 days (Gen. 50:3). In Saul’s case, only 7 days (1 Sam. 31:13). In Moses’ time, the official period of grief was 30 days.

When Moses died and the allowable 30 days were over, God told Joshua it was time for him to get up and get going. I think that a lot of times we need someone with insight to help us get going too, to wake us up out of our grief, and get us to move on before the sorrow destroys us or makes us morose.

I know I needed a push when my dog Spike passed away. I was so sad I couldn’t see getting a new dog and had convinced myself that I couldn’t get one because of the cat. My friend Miki kept pestering me with pictures of rescue dogs that needed homes, and I kept pushing the idea away. Then, my roommate, Jane, rescued a dog from the alleyway. We made two failed attempts at giving him away and finally got the message: “Keep the dog!” And of course, we love him like crazy now. He pulled me out of my depression. My time of grief was supposed to be over, and God was working through insightful people, forcing me to move on.

When God pushed Joshua out of his grief, it was by a new thing for him. Moses had died, and now Joshua had the responsibility to lead God’s people. I’m sure it was a little intimidating. Any time we have to embrace something new, after losing something we love, it’s hard. But we don’t have to do it alone. God told Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).

When we lose loved ones, our homes, our jobs, our favorite restaurants, our TV, or any other thing, it’s perfectly normal to grieve those things. We shouldn’t deny ourselves some portion of grieving. It’s shows true character to willingly face a loss head-on. Then talk about it with the Lord. He already knows, but it helps us to voice what we’re feeling. After that, we have two choices: 1. giving up and regressing to old bad habits, or 2. we recognize that the Lord is with us in our wilderness and He will lead us out. The first choice may seem like the easiest, and it may be, but the second choice is definitely the best and will bring us to new beginnings, and God will not disappoint.

Love, Carolyn

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DISAPPOINTMENT OR DECISION

DISAPPOINTMENT OR DECISION

Many of you know that I was very passionate about this midterm election. Well, it turns out that except in the case of a few judges, I was not with the majority on my voting. And every issue I voted down, the majority voted to pass through. So, what do I do? Pout? Get mad? Give up? Well maybe a little pouting, and some disappointment, but I definitely won’t give up. I truly believe God has this handled. So many times I’ve seen that God’s ultimate plan was, and still is much more far-reaching than my eyes could see. So, I trust and let Him do His job, and I get busy with His next assignment for me.

I’m getting better at being able to move ahead past disappointments. I can’t let discouragement get a toe-hold. It’s not healthy for my body or my soul.

God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Is. 55:8). Sometimes God lets us know His thoughts and His ways before a thing happens, but sometimes we don’t catch the understanding until a time afterward. It’s necessary to rely totally on faith and trust in Him. And He promises us that He always has our best in mind.

I learned a long time ago that the loss of anything or anyone requires a period of grieving, even if it is a very short time, we have to take an honest look at the loss and deal with it.

Grieving is a universal phenomenon. There’s plenty of studies on sorrow and grief, but there’s still much to be learned about how it works, how long it takes, and the effects it has. The one thing we do know is that it’s a process and it varies with situations and people.

We can see from the Bible different examples of the grieving process. Signs included tearing one’s robe, weeping, having disheveled hair, putting dust and ashes into the hair or shaving the hair or beard. Other indications of sorrow included wearing black or sad-colored clothing, removal of ornaments or neglect of person, fasting or abstinence in meat or drink, and wearing sackcloth. Sackcloth was made of goat or camel hair and was coarse and uncomfortable. One Bible dictionary said that men were generally more silent in grief and women more vocal and demonstrative.

These were things that exhibited in ancient times, but the grieving process hasn’t really changed much over the years. Just one example I can think of is female friends who’ve done something to change the style or color of their hair after a divorce. I don’t know if it’s even a conscious decision or just part of the inward, inherent grief reaction. A lot of us get depressed or grumpy when we’ve lost something or someone.

In the Bible, the days of mourning varied. In the case of Jacob, it was 70 days (Gen. 50:3). In Saul’s case, only seven days (1 Sam. 31:13). In Moses’ time, the official period of grief was 30 days.

When Moses died, and the allowable 30 days was over, God told Joshua it was time for him to get up and get going. I think that a lot of times we need someone with insight to help us get going too, to wake us up out of our grief and get us to move on before the sorrow destroys us or makes us morose.

I know I needed a push when my dog Spike passed away. I was so sad I couldn’t see getting a new dog and had convinced myself that I couldn’t get one because of the cat. My friend Miki kept pestering me with pictures of rescue dogs that needed homes, and I kept pushing the idea away. Then my best friend Jane rescued a dog from the alley. We made two failed attempts at giving him away and finally got the message: “Keep the dog!” My time of grief was supposed to be over, and God was working through insightful people, forcing me to move on.

When God pushed Joshua, it was a new thing for him. Moses was gone, and now he had the responsibility to lead God’s people. I’m sure it was a little intimidating. Any time we’re forced to embrace something new, after losing something we loved, it’s hard. But we don’t have to do it alone. God told Joshua: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).

When we lose our loved ones, or if we lose our homes, our jobs, or even our well-thought-through choices on an election, it’s okay to grieve those things. It’s good to recognize and face loss head-on, then realize the loss has opened up an opportunity to seek and trust the Lord for what will be next.

In Isaiah 48:6 God promises He will show us new things, hidden things that we’ve never known before. “I have shown thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.”

For me, I’m sad that things didn’t go my way in the midterm election, but I’m looking at the good things that happened. And the Lord is showing me that there’s more good to come, so I’m ready and willing to believe and see.

Love, Carolyn