Learning to Lament

Posted on August 28, 2017 by Steve Foster

I fight tears.

I am not sure why.

There is something that feels dangerous about tears. Uncontrollable. You fear that if you start you may not be able to stop.

But when the tears come, it has a way of cleansing my soul. Reminding me that I am still human. That my heart is not numb…cold…dead.

This has been a hard week.

Sitting at the bedside of a woman who has wasted away because of cancer. Face sunken. Hair gone. Body reduced to skin and bones. You can't run away from the reality of death. It is ugly…cruel…unstoppable. Yet she manages a smile while I read Scripture.

Jesus is the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. He knows His sheep by name and no one can snatch them out of His hand.

She looks up with eyes that know her time is near. And she tries to sing.

My heart breaks.

A few hours later she is gone.

Before I can stop to process the day, another tragedy hits.

A husband, father, and new grandfather. A man who beams joy when you see him. A man who has faced the harsh realities of life…the loss of everything in a flood, financial difficulties, uncertainties…with grace and a smile.

Missing. Then found. Robbed. Shot. Killed.

While sitting alone in a park journaling.

Journaling. Thinking. Reflecting. Praying.

But seen as a target by those without regard for life.

A family shocked, shaken, grieving.

How do you process this? Where do you go?

The world is unsafe. We are vulnerable.

Do you run and hide?

Shake your fist at the world? At others? At God?

Or do you weep?

The tears come at odd times. One moment you are speaking. The next you are grieving…weeping…crying.

But somehow in the tears there is a sense of relief. Release. Peace.

Perhaps it is our fighting of tears that leads to our fighting with one another.

We don't know how to lament. Anger feels more natural. More appropriate. More powerful.

We fight tears because we fight our own weakness. Our mortality. Our vulnerability.

But we are weak. We are mortal. We are vulnerable.

Who are we kidding? Ourselves?

Tears remind us of reality. They remind us that life is short. That evil exists. That suffering happens. That something is desperately wrong with this world.

Tears point us to hope.

We sorrow but not as others who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

We have a hope that transcends the grave, of a coming kingdom, of a coming King.

We have a Savior that has entered our world, shared our suffering, carried our sin, defeated our death.

A Savior who wept…and one day will wipe away our tears.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Posted in Random Thoughts | 2 Comments

The Stories We Tell

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Steve Foster

My oldest son is home from college. We are all together again as a family. Sitting around the dinner table, the stories begin to flow. Each of us has a story. Memories. Mostly funny. Sometimes embarrassing. But all of them told in a way that is intended to make us laugh, connect, and remember.

After the stories are told, our family feels closer…tighter…stronger.

That is the power of stories.

What we remember. How we remember. And how we tell them.

It is our stories that shape us, form us, give us identity…as individuals, married couples, families, churches, communities, and even nations.

I think of a newspaper.

There are literally a million stories that happen every day but the newspaper picks a few stories to tell. And those stories have a way of shaping how we view the world around us.

I think about my own life.

I am almost 49. Just doing the math, I have lived approximately 17850 days (give or take a few days because I don't have time to figure out leap years). If you guesstimate that an average day includes at least 100 different events, then there are probably two million possible stories that I could remember in my life. But I only remember a limited number. I could call these the "significant events" of my life but they are also the events that I have revisited in my mind, that I have interpreted, and that I have retold…to myself and probably to others…often with pictures, both real and in my imagination.

These are the stories that shape me, that become the basis of how I view myself, my life, and others in my life.

Think about your own life, your marriage, your family, your church, your community. What stories do you remember? What stories do you revisit? What stories do you tell? Whatever they are, they have shaped you and often form the basis of your identity.

So it is imperative that we remember well.

Not only remember well but interpret well.

Some memories can't be forgotten. Some stories have to be told. But how we remember, how we interpret, and how we tell them is up to us.

The Bible is full of stories, events in the history of humanity that have been chosen to be told.

The Bible does not ignore difficult, tragic stories. In fact, many are bothered by the "R-rated" nature and graphic stories of sacred Scripture.

But the Bible couches every story in a bigger story. Even the most sordid and shocking are remembered, interpreted, and told in a certain way…a redemptive way. They are meant to point to something bigger. They are meant to create a thirst for something better. They are meant to lift our eyes to something more beautiful.

The four Gospels all lead up to and focus on one story. The story of an innocent Man being falsely accused, betrayed, abandoned, beaten, and crucified, the most shameful and painful way that the Romans could devise for a man to die.

An odd story to remember and to tell.

Unless one sees it and interprets it within the bigger story.

The story of redemption.

The story of a love that cannot be fathomed.

The story of a God who entered our world to die for us and to graft us into His story.

And that's the story that all of us should tell.

Posted in Random Thoughts | 2 Comments

What Is God’s Will for Me?

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Steve Foster

"What is God's will for my life?"

That is a common question that we all ask at one time or another.

Paul gives the answer in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This is not necessarily the answer that we are looking for. Most of us are looking for specific instruction on specific decisions that we have to make at specific times. We want to know what to do at the various crossroads in life that we encounter.

But Paul's instruction is meant to give us the right mindset to make wise decisions in every circumstance of our lives. It is similar to Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

So what is God's will for us today…and for every day?

Rejoice always…

There are around 70 commands in the NT to rejoice (e.g., Philippians 4:4). Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and vital aspect of our walk with Christ. Joy is not a pasted-on smile or a denial of the trials and tragedies of life. It is an inner contentment and trust in the Lord that chooses to see everything in life through the lens of grace.

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)

Pray without ceasing…

We are to live in communion with God, going through life with a God-centered focus and dependency.

George Muller (1805-98) was perhaps one of the most faithful men of prayer in history. His story of trust in God as he cared for over 10,000 orphans and started over 100 schools in England, all without ever asking for a penny, is a testimony of God's power and grace. His secret?

“I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming. Thousands and tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded that a thing is right and for the glory of God, I go on praying for it until the answer comes."

In everything give thanks…
 
In the Greek language, grace, thanksgiving, and joy are related words. Seeing everything as a gift of grace leads to thanksgiving which leads to joy.
 
We often begin with the wrong premise. We think we deserve a perfect life with no problems and then get upset when things don't go our way. If instead we began with the premise that we don't deserve anything but death in this sin-cursed world, then our entire perspective changes. Everything is a gift of grace…and even in the bad times we can trust the sovereignty and love of God to work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).
 
This is not a denial of reality but a seeing of reality from an eternal, redemptive perspective.
 
This is the birthright of the believer in Christ.
 
And this is God's will for you today.
Posted in Tough Questions of Faith | Leave a comment

Jesus Understands

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Steve Foster

In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:7-10)

Jesus is our High Priest. He represents us before God. He offers up the ultimate sacrifice, Himself, on our behalf. He sympathizes with our weaknesses.

But does He really understand?

I think of Proverbs 14:10:

The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

There is an "aloneness" in our own heart. No one can fully enter into what we feel. There is anxiety, discouragement, depression, feelings of inadequacy, shame, guilt, isolation, and struggles with our own thought life that plague us. And we can feel like no one truly understands or cares.

But Hebrews argues that Jesus does understand.

How do we know?

Because He fully entered into our humanity. He didn't enter this world in a HazMat suit. He came in human flesh and experienced the emotions and pains that we experience.

The Garden of Gethsemane is the prime example.

In the Garden, Jesus was encompassed with sorrow, even to the point of feeling like He was going to die from the sheer intensity of His emotions (Matthew 26:38). His stress was so enormous that apparently the blood vessels under the surface of His skin burst open and He sweated blood (Luke 22:44). He was in severe agony. He begged God three times to take the prospect of drinking the cup of His wrath away from Him if there were any other way for man's redemption to be accomplished (Matt. 26:36-46).

And while He was in the biggest emotional and spiritual battle that any man has ever experienced, His closest friends couldn't offer Him a bit of comfort. In fact, they fell asleep while His soul writhed in pain.

Jesus gets it.

He understands the anxiety, the stress, the pain, the sorrow, the agony, the feeling of being alone and abandoned.

He truly knows, understands, empathizes, weeps with us, intercedes for us.

And He doesn't fall asleep.

So why did God allow His own beloved Son to go through such agony? Shouldn't a loving Father swoop in and rescue His Son from such pain?

Because Jesus had to experience the fullness of life on this sin-cursed earth and the full intensity of the battle against sin in order to be our merciful High Priest.

He actually learned obedience through what He suffered.

What?! How could the omniscient Son of God learn something? Isn't that an oxymoron? The learning omniscient One?

He learned what it meant to suffer as a human being. It was an experiential learning that He could not accomplish apart from taking on human flesh.

And in the midst of intense suffering, He continued to trust God. He ultimately reached the place where He said, "Not my will but Yours be done."

Pain. Surrender. Trust. Obedience.

It is a difficult path but Jesus already walked it.

He understands me. He knows me. He loves me. And He leads me.

Going before me and walking next to me…

As a good Shepherd…

Through (not around) the valley of the shadow of death.

Posted in Hebrews Devotionals | Leave a comment

Why Does God Not Make It Clear to People that He Is Real?

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Steve Foster

Recently I was asked: "Why does God not make it clear to people that he is 'real'? If God is love and wants us to love Him, why not make it clearly evident to all people throughout all time?"

Here was my response.

Good question. One I have asked myself as well. Why doesn't God make it clearer that He exists? It seems like He could do things differently…or better.

Short answer: I don't know.

Whenever you go down the road of "why didn't God do things differently?" you eventually hit a roadblock. There are some things we simply can't know. We just have to trust Him. Sort of like the 2-year old who can't understand why his parents don't let him eat cookies instead of vegetables or who take him to the doctor to get shots that hurt.

Here are my best thoughts as I wrestle through this question…

The Bible says that God has revealed himself to every person in some kind of way.

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. (John 1:9)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. (Rom 1:18-19)

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:26-28a)

So the Bible says that each person has some kind of "inner witness" to God's existence. In fact, Acts 17 would even say that right now we are living and moving and existing in God's very being. In other words, it is sort of like the fish saying, "I am not sure water exists because I don't see it quite the way that I expect to." Or us as humans saying, "I am not sure air exists because it is not visible to me."

When it comes right down to it, we can only know our own thoughts. We can't enter into the mind of another and so we can never know what particular ways that God has revealed Himself to them. Yes, there are many atheists who would say, "God hasn't revealed Himself to me in any way!" But we can't know that. We can only know our own hearts.

On top of the inner witness of God's existence, the Bible also says that there is a clear outer witness, creation itself. Psalm 19 and Romans 1 make this clear.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. (Psalm 19:1-2)

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:20)

To stop and look at the intricacy and complexity and beauty of creation is enough to tell us that there is a master designer to our world and to our bodies. When we see order anywhere else in creation, we automatically know that there is a designer. It is only in creation that we doubt it.

When you read this email, you will not assume that it was a random glitch in a computer that sent this to you. You will know it is from me even though you don't see me write it or send it or even really understand how it got from my computer to yours. And yet, the information in a single strand of DNA has infinitely more information than is contained in this email and we doubt that it has an Author.

But why does God seemingly "hide" so much?

Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! (Is 45:15)

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. (Prov 25:2)

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb 11:6)

God is looking for a certain kind of relationship with us. He wants us to trust Him when we don't always understand or see Him. He wants us to seek Him, to wrestle with Him, to desire Him. Maybe He could wow us over and over with "special effects" and visiting angels and clouds that spell out "Yahweh" every morning. But He hasn't. Sometimes He does, like in the case of Israel at Mount Sinai, but that didn't make Israel love Him more but in fact resist Him and demand more and more signs. It is the ol' "what have you done for me lately" attitude. It is the same mentality of the crowds who followed Jesus as long as He was doing miracles and feeding them and catering to their wants. God doesn't want this kind of "follower" and so He hides Himself, revealing enough to us to call us after Him but not so much to make us children always demanding more and always wanting God to prove Himself.

At times I wish it were different. But maybe it is the darkness of doubt and the intensity of the struggle on earth that will make the joy and intimacy of His presence in heaven that much sweeter.

Hope that helps.

Pastor Steve

Posted in Tough Questions of Faith | 2 Comments