Perseverance – Page 2 – Live UP! Ministries

March 26, 2010

She’s in the Army Now

I said goodbye to my baby girl last night. Albany’s in the Army now.

As I think back over the last 20-1/2 years, I can’t help but smile. What a trip! Not all roses, but not all thorns either. We had our ups and our downs, our hugs and our spats, our laughs and our tears. Sweetness was followed by rebellion, which was always followed by sweetness again. The thing I’ve always loved about Albany — even admired about her — is her uniqueness. She doesn’t just march to a different drummer; she’s got her own band and writes her own music! She’s adopted my mother’s viewpoint: “I am who I am and if you don’t like it, then that’s your problem not mine.” Her uniqueness has been costly — in friends, in rejections, in hurt feelings, in self-esteem — but rather than break her, it seems to have made her stronger. She’s in the Army now.

I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with Albany. As I lay in bed that night, I put my hands on my belly, looked up to heaven, and silently prayed, “Lord, please let this baby be a girl. I’m not sure I can handle a girl, but I’d love to try.” My husband and 2 sons wanted a little girl so badly that I used to say I wanted another boy, just to temper their desires and to avoid disappointment if it were another boy. But, oh, how I wanted a daughter. And what a daughter I got! I wanted to buy her Barbie dolls; she preferred Ninja turtles. I enrolled her in ballet class with her friends; she preferred hunting with her brothers. I spent a lot of money on pretty little dresses, bonnets, and bows; she tore them off as soon as possible and put on jeans and a ball cap. I dreamed womanly dreams for her; she dreamed of being a mechanic. She’s in the Army now.

Many questioned Albany’s decision to enter the military. Many tried their best to talk her out of going. Many have been surprised by her resolve. Not me. Since the first day she talked to me about it, I’ve known deep in my heart that this day would come. “I need to find out who I am and to find some confidence in myself,” she explained. “I want something hard, something that will test and prove me. And I need something that I cannot quit; I’ve quit everything I’ve ever started.” Albany tried college but hated it. She preferred work — hard work. I’ve never known anyone quite like her, anyone who has such a love for hard labor and a disdain for the cushy jobs. She’s in the Army now.

On March 24, Albany raised her right hand and took her oath: “I, Albany Ann Lewis, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies…” As I watched Albany turn from a citizen into a soldier, I saw my “little blonde bomber” turn into a beautiful woman. I battled a lump in my throat and silently prayed for strength to let her go without tears — she can handle a lot of things but not tears! One last hug, and she was gone. After rain delays, bus delays, and over 36 hours of waiting, Albany finally reached Fort Leonard Wood (Missouri) last night about 11:00 p.m. She made one quick call before getting off the bus, knowing she’d have to give up her cell phone in just a matter of minutes. In a low, hushed voice she said, “Just calling to let you know I’m fine. We’re here. I’ll call you later. I love you.” Click. She’s in the Army now.

Writing this has been difficult; I can barely see the screen. As tears roll down my cheeks, memories are flooding my mind. Sweet memories — good, bad, and hilarious. But the sweetest of all is the memory of an answered prayer uttered in the darkness of night over 20 years ago. And I know He’s hearing my prayer today for that same daughter. He has calmed my heart, whispering to me in that still, small voice: Albany may be in the Army now but she belongs to Me forever. Trust Me. And I do. God trusted me to watch after her for 20-1/2 years. It’s His watch now and I can trust Him.

She’s in the Army now — but she’ll always be my little blonde bomber!

March 18, 2010

Even Men!

YOU-nique: Embracing God’s Design for You kicked off at our church this fall with a women’s retreat. We took a “30,000 foot view” of the book’s topics; then we split up into small accountability groups for the 6-week study. I made a promise to visit each class on their first night and commend the participants for taking the journey into YOU-niqueness. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw as I entered the Wednesday evening 5:30 group. There among all the women sat one, solitary, lonely man! I was so surprised that I stutter-stepped as I entered the room.

“Clifford? Did you not realize there would be only women here? Do we need to find you some brave men to form your own group?”

“No, I didn’t realize it was only for women. But I promised my wife that I’d go through this study with her and I’m going to keep my word.” And so he did. But that wasn’t the end…

We culminated our adventure wth a YOU-nique Celebration Tea in which all the groups joined together to worship God and to share what we had learned about our individual, unique designs.** And, you guessed it — in walked Cliff! His wife Rose walked in, rolled her eyes, and said, “I tried to talk him into not coming, but –”

“I told her ‘No!'” Cliff interrupted. “I always finish what I start. Besides, I’ve never had hot tea before; thought I’d give it a try.” With a sly grin, he sat down at a back table. And may I tell you he enjoyed every minute of it! But that wasn’t the end…

The next day was Sunday. Cliff and I are in the same Sunday School class. As the class was fellowshipping around coffee and snacks, Cliff called from across the room, “Donna, these guys want me to give up my man-card!”

“Clifford,” I answered, “you needn’t worry about those boys. You are the only real man here!” He turned and gave the guys an I-told-you-so grin. But still that wasn’t the end…

Cliff felt that other men would benefit from learning about their God-given design. So this past winter, he led a group of men through YOU-nique — or “MAN-ique,” as they preferred to call it! In lieu of a celebration tea, they culminated their study with a B-Y-O-Steak Celebration!

YOU-nique is a non-gender specific study. It’s for men and women, ages 16 and up. Men, however, are not groupers or retreaters like women are, so it took one special man — a man-ique man! — to take the challenge. Cliff went where no man has ever gone before and now there are 7 real men in Sunday School!

So how about it, all you male readers? Are you a real man, not afraid to look into God’s mirror and discover your God-given design? Come on, I dare you: Join the few, the proud, the MAN-nique!

PS: Here’s a few of the men’s comments:

“From a man’s point of view, it’s good that men can open up with each other, find out how we are made and where we can grow with a true purpose because of our God-given makeup.”
“I’m very glad to learn that I do not have to stand on a street corner and preach! I have a different set of gifts! I really got a lot out of men actually sharing their hearts, fears, and failures and supporting each other.”
“This program helped me understand my spiritual gift. I struggled for many years with this.” I came to the realization that God never stops using me. I just have to have the faith to realize he will give me the words and actions needed to [serve] according to His will.”
“This is an awesome Bible study — a fresh new perspective on why we are who we are. I learned a lot about myself and how God wants to use me.”

**A separate YOU-nique Companion Guide (for Women) is available with all the directions and teaching notes needed to host a retreat and a celebration event.

March 5, 2010

Deal with it or let it go!

Months ago I saw an old schoolmate in a local restaurant. Beth Green** was a grade ahead of me in our small little high school, where everybody knew everybody — and everybody’s business! Seeing her again after all these years brought back an unpleasant memory.

I remember being in the 7th grade and you know how 7th and 8th grade girls can be: drama queens, every one of them! Just after school was out one afternoon, I was walking around the corner of the building, heading to a water fountain outside the school office, when I heard two girls giving Beth “down in the country,” as my mom would say.

“She said…Then I said…”

“Yeah, but she’s just…”

And so on it went.

As I finished drinking the water and straightened up, the talking stopped and both girls looked at me. In an pitiful attempt to be funny, I said, “What is this? The I-hate-Beth-Green Club?” They both cracked up laughing and said, “Yeah! Wan’na join?” I just laughed, shook my head, and walked off, in a hurry to catch my bus.

The next afternoon when we got home, my brother let me have it. He was in Beth’s class and she had told him that I had formed the I-hate-Beth-Green Club. “I can’t believe you’d do such a thing, Donna. You know better! Beth may not like you too much but this is certainly no way to treat her — and it’s surely no way to get her to like you!”

I couldn’t believe my ears! Apparently one (or both) of the two girls who were actually gossiping about her told her that I was the culprit! I didn’t recall anyone else being within earshot. I told my brother how the whole thing really went down. “I’ll straighten it out with Beth tomorrow,” I sighed.

“Wait a minute,” my brother said. “If you tell her that the other two were actually the ones talking about her, then they’ll just deny it. And who do you think Beth will believe? She already doesn’t like you too much. And if you do tell her, then instead of just 1 person, you’ll have 3 people mad at you. My advice is to just let it go; it’ll blow over after a while.”

I took my brother’s advice and said nothing. Beth and I were never bossom buddies, but we did get along a lot better as we grew older. We never talked about the incident, but I never forgot it; and it hurt to think that she didn’t know the truth.

That was over 35 years ago. Seeing Beth again brought it all back to me, including the pain of being unjustly maligned and never being able to set the record straight.

A few weeks ago, I saw Beth again in Wal-Mart. We talked and talked while waiting in a long, slow cashier’s line. She was so kind and jovial; she even invited me to join her and some of our other schoolmates who occassionally get together. All of a sudden, the reins on my tongue that I had held tightly for so long were loosed.

“Beth, I’ve always wanted to right something that happened way back in school. I got blamed for starting the I-hate-Beth-Green Club but it wasn’t me…blah, blah, blah.” (Just so you know I’m not all bad, I never revealed the names of the 2 other girls.)

“There was an I-hate-Beth-Green Club?” she asked. “Hmmm, I didn’t know that. You learn something new every day.” She looked hurt and wasn’t quite as pleasant as she was before my mouth spewed forth like a pent-up geyser.

I felt sick as I walked to my car. I couldn’t believe I did that. More amazingly, I couldn’t believe she didn’t remember. I mean, this unjust event tore at my gut for over 35 years — and she didn’t even remember it! Then it hit me why I felt the need to blurt out my vindication: pride and anger.

My pride (which was quite large) had been injured. And although I had held my tongue all these years, I had harbored anger against the two other girls. Instead of swallowing my pride and holding my tongue like I did back when I was young, I let my anger spill out as I attempted to restore my so-called dignity. The result? I re-hurt her and put a stumbling block in the way of our renewed friendship.

So what have I learned? Either deal with an issue while it’s fresh and then deal with the consequences that follow; or, swallow your pride, extinuish any anger, and let things heal (or, in my case, let it remain healed).

Where was that brother when I needed him this time? Oh, wait. I’m supposed to be a big girl now.

A fool gives full vent to his anger,

but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Proverbs 29:11

**Not her real name.

February 24, 2010

Dough, Dirt, and Coal

“You mean, God allowed this to happen to me? Why didn’t He stop it? Or why didn’t He at least make it a little less painful?” Ever been guilty of asking those questions? I confess: I’m guilty!

Sometimes bad things come into our lives because of our own poor choices. God forgives our sin when we confess it but He still allows the consequences to come. What an effective teacher consequences can be! Sometimes, however, God may actually bring a trial or hardship upon us or allow someone else’s poor choices to affect us. Why? Not being God, I couldn’t say; but knowing God, I can say with confidence that He has a definite purpose in doing so and that it’s for our good.

What could His purpose be? How could it be for our good? To understand, let’s look at 3 illustrations.

First, dough. Dough rises as it fills with air bubbles. If baked at this point, the loaf would be uneven, deformed, filled with holes, and covered with wart-like bubbles. It might smell good and taste okay but, being an unsightly mess, few would be compelled to eat it. So to get the air bubbles out, the baker has to punch the dough down, knead it and fold it over and over — actually treating the dough quite brutally — until it’s smooth, elastic, and rises evenly. The dough is better but it’s still fairly useless.

The baker, however, knows just what to do: He places the dough in an oven and turns up the heat! He knows just the right temperature and just the right amount of time to leave the dough in that hot environment. The result? A delicious, aromatic, life-sustaining loaf of bread. And who can resist a slice of that?

Second, dirt. Dry, barren land becomes as hard as rock and good for nothing but walking on. It draws no animals, hosts no plants, and decreases in value. The farmer, however, knows just what to do: He comes at it with a hose and a tiller! He applies water to soften the ground and then tills it, first breaking it into large chunks and then into smaller and smaller pieces. At this point, the hard, dry ground has only changed into soft, wet dirt. It’s still not ready to receive seed.

So the farmer pours on a lot of stinking stuff! Too little fertilizer leaves the soil undernourished; too much, however, will “burn” the soil. Not to worry: the farmer knows the exact amount needed. The result? Lush, fertile soil that’s ready for seed! Such soil has the ability to produce abundant crops and, thus, to nourish thousands!

Finally, coal. Coal is a black, messy ore. Everywhere the coal touches it leaves behind a dirty smudge. But under pressure — intense pressure — the chunk of coal becomes a diamond in the rough! And a rough diamond is more desireable than a lump of coal, right? Yet even then, the coal has not reached its full potential.

The jeweler, however, knows just what to do: He comes at it with a cleaver! After cleaving the large stone into smaller pieces, He places 2 rough diamonds on a lathe in such a way that they spin in opposite directions, grinding against each other to make them rounded. The jeweler then cuts the facets — 58 to be exact — and, finally, gives the diamond a bath in acid to remove any residue that might dull its appearance. The result? A beautiful, sparkling, precious jewel! And who doesn’t want one of those?

The kneading and the hot oven, the tilling and the fertilizer, the pressure, cleaving, grinding, faceting, and acid — they’re all trials and hardships the dough, dirt, and coal must endure in order to become delicious bread, fertile soil, and valuable diamonds.

Which picture above illustrates your spiritual condition? Are you a lumpy, sticky mess of dough? Then yield yourself to the Baker and let Him knead you until all your impurities are released. Let Him “bake” you until you are like the Bread of Life, nourishing others and leaving everywhere the aroma of Christ. Are you spiritually dry, barren, and hard? Let the Gardener apply the water of His Word to soften you, the tiller of His will to break you, and the fertilizer — yes, even the stinky stuff — of life to enrich you so that you can bear much fruit. Or, are you a lump of smutty coal? Don’t let the pressures of life or the grinding from other “rough diamonds” break you; rather let them turn you into a well-rounded gem. Then let the Jeweler cleave, facet, and polish you until He can shine through you and cast His Light upon the paths of others.

Why does God allow junk into your life? Maybe, just maybe, He desires to turn you into…

… a loaf of bread that nourishes others with hope and perseverance, or

… a field of fertile soil that grows abundant, fruit-bearing crops, or

… a precious diamond that sparkles with the glory of God!

He has a purpose and it’s for your good. So TRUST HIM!

February 8, 2010

Saints Win! Saints Win!

People were screaming, car horns were honking, fireworks were popping as the Cinderella Saints won Super Bowl XLIV last night. Even yours truly, a diehard Peyton Manning fan, was acting quite the fool, jumping up-and-down and screaming. From the heart of New Orleans, throughout Louisiana, and across the nation, people were tuned in and turned on to Saints mania — 106.5 million to be exact, the largest television viewing audience ever! Wow!

Now, if only we could get that lathered up over being a saint — a real saint, that is, not a football player or a team fan.

Saint = chesidh (Hebrew)

“…kind, benevolent, gracious…holy one”*

“Saint” is rooted in the Hebrew word chesed (often translated as lovingkindness). One of the most important words in the Old Testament, chesed carries the idea of a superior bending down to perform an act of kindness for an inferior. So when Christians are called “saints,” it has nothing to do with what they’ve done or how they live; it has everything to do with what God has done for them.

Think about it: The God of the universe didn’t just bend down to perform some kind act; He came down to earth to perform the greatest act of kindness the world has ever known. He took our place on the cross, cancelled our sin debt, and paid the price for eternal life! And to those who have accepted His gift, to those who believe in Him, God gave them the right to be called “saints.”

Wow! Shouldn’t we be doing a lot of screaming? Shouldn’t car horns be honking? Shouldn’t fireworks be popping? Shouldn’t the saints of God be more excited over this victory than over a ballgame win?

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

Let me put that in today’s vernacular. Only one team can win a ballgame. So all the competing athletes get into a training program, learn to work together, and strive to be the best team possible. All the winner gets, however, is a trophy and a title; a trophy that gets dusty, rusty, and forgotten, and a title that lasts only a year.

But saints? Our victory has already been won through the cross of Christ! It’s really, really true:

Saints win! Saints win!

*From the Lexical Aids to the Old Testament included in The Complete Word Study Old Testament by Spiros Zodhiates (AMG Publishers 1994).

January 18, 2010November 22, 2019

The Lifter of My Head

I had the awesome priviledge of taking a little trip with my friend this weekend. Cheryl and I went to Birmingham, Alabama, to attend a leader training session for The Truth Project by Focus on the Family. It was fabulous! We stayed over Saturday night and attended worship at Shades Mountain Baptist Church where a former pastor of ours is now serving. While the whole worship experience was wonderful, the music lifted me to heights I’ve not traveled in a while. Let me tell you about it:

If you read my last blog, then you know I’m traveling through a pretty rough valley right now — actually a series of valleys! Burden has been heaped upon burden, and I’ve been faltering under the load. At The Truth Project training on Saturday, God showed up, and in His hand He held a mirror. I looked long and hard at the reflection of my soul. It wasn’t a pretty sight. In God’s mirror, I saw that I had become insane.

What is insanity? It’s losing touch with the truth. It’s saying one thing and living another. It’s knowing the truth but living the lies. According to Dr. Del Tackett, the director of The Truth Project, the enemy’s lies are so powerful that they can lead us into insanity. And I was going mad. I said I was okay; I said God would deliver me; I said “This, too, shall pass.” I knew the truth; I spoke the truth; but I wasn’t living by the truth. Insanity.

Recognizing the illness is half the cure. God and I worked through the diagnosis until deep into the night.

I was a bit raw from the purging and refining process — and a bit weary from little sleep — when I sat down on the pew Sunday morning. But I was ready to move on toward the curing of my soul. And, once again, God showed up. This time, however, instead of a mirror He brought a healing balm.

We’d only sung one song and then it happened. We sang a song that I’d heard before but only with my ears; this time, I heard it with my heart.

Thou, O LORD, is based on Psalm 3, written by David when he was probably walking through his deepest valley. He wrote it on the run, when he fled from his son Absalom who wanted to depose King David and take the crown.* His own son! And this was just the current valley in a long string of valleys David had traveled. From his deepest despair, David wrote Psalm 3, a song of God’s pretection, His sustenance, and His deliverance — a song of TRUTH. Psalm 3:3 forms the chorus of Thou, O LORD:

Thou, oh LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory and the lifter of my head!
Thou, oh LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory and the lifter of my head!

The LORD is my shield! He is my glory! His is the lifter of my head! Oh, how that last phrase pierced my heart the first time I sang it. But the second time? It was the balm of God, slathered on my gaping wound and healing it! Through this song, God Himself reached down, placed the fingers of His right hand under my chin, and gently lifted it up, saying, “Lift up your head, my child! Look at me. I am your Shield! I am your Defender! I am your Glory! This is truth; walk in it!”

Praise God who heals us of our every disease — even a season of spiritual insanity! Praise & hand of God

To the LORD, I cry aloud,

and He answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

I will not fear…

(Psalm 3:4-5)

Enjoy the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sing Thou, O LORD.

*For more on the background of David and Absalom, see my January 5 blog article, Lost Faith?
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January 13, 2010

This Valley I Tread

When times are good, be happy;

but when times are bad, consider:

God has made the one as well as the other.

(Ecclessiates 7:14)

Hard times. I hate ’em! Yet they’re sure to come. And just as night follows day, hard times often follow high times.

One month you can be on Mountain Path, enjoying a spectacular view, bountiful blessings, and intimate moments with God (see Nov 12 blog post). The next thing you know, you’re on a bumpy ride down Valley Trail, dodging potholes, searching for a right turn, and focusing intently on the directions of your GPS (God’s Precious Spirit).

If you could “GoogleEarth” me today, that’s where you’d find me unfortunately.

Hmm. Let’s mark out that last word. Is it unfortunate that I’m here in the Valley? No, I don’t think so. I’m not here as a matter of fortune but as a matter of purpose. There’s a lot of work to be done here — most of it on me!

You see, this is not the Valley of Sin. I’m not here because of sin I’ve committed (I’ve actually been more obedient lately than usual!). No, this is a different valley: a valley where wars are fought, where lessons are learned, where painful fires burn as they purify and purge before propelling the traveller upward again!

It’s the Valley of Intimacy, where a child might be instructed by her Father; where a servant might receive orders from his Master; where a faithful yet weary sojourner might be reinvigorated by Living Water; where the purpose of a pot is further molded by his Potter; where a branch might be pruned by her Gardener; or where the army of God defends a soldier against his attacker.

Oh, it’s not an easy place to travel! There’s rugged terrain and dry desserts to cross which often lead to some “vehicle” maintenance. Yet there’s an oft-missed beauty about this Valley. It’s a place where one rests in God’s arms beneath her, feels His presence beside her, listens to His Spirit inside her, and relies on His stance above her. And if one can keep her focus on the purpose of the Valley of Intimacy and the destination that lies ahead, then there can be joy in the journey.

As a preacher said on his television program yesterday, “When you are down to nothing, God is up to something!” How true! When we are out of gas, out of resources, and out of power, God takes the wheel — and you better have on your spiritual seatbelt because it’s always an awesome ride from “nothing” toward “something”!

Good times and bad: “God has made the one as well as the other.” And who is He?

He is God Most High;

He is Father Most Precious;

He is Love Most Pure;

He is Grace Most Abundant —

and we can trust Him!

November 18, 2009

A Longing Fulfilled

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:10

It was 3 years and 3 months ago today.

My sister and I had traveled to Nashville, TN, to pitch an idea to a publisher about creating retreats-in-a-box, kits with everything a church needs to have an in-house retreat. Our retreat was entitled YOU-nique: Embracing God’s Design for You. It’s purpose: to help believers realize that they were born ON purpose FOR a purpose so we need to live our lives WITH purpose.

On the morning of our meeting, my sister rose early and, thinking I was still asleep, took her Bible into the bathroom for a time of reading and meditation. A few minutes later, she came out running, shaking a piece of paper, and screaming, “It’s here! It’s here!” After scaring me half to death and then calming down, she explained.

A few months earlier, Cyndi and her daughter had attended a Mother-Daughter Weekend event in Houston, TX, hosted by Mercy Ministries of America and the singing group Point of Grace. They went to see Point of Grace; they returned talking about Mercy Ministries, a non-profit organization that helps young ladies overcome life-destroying habits, situations, or abuse (see post article “Mercy Has a Face,” dated 11-2-09). That morning Cyndi had pulled out of her Bible a brochure on the ministry and realized Mercy Ministries’ (MM’s) corporate headquarters was based right there in Nashville, TN. “We have to go and visit them!” So she called, set up an appointment, and got directions.

While meeting with the publisher, I shared with him my firm belief that, while women come in for a retreat, some type of ministry must flow out from it; therefore, each retreat needed to have a mission action project. “Take, Mercy Ministries, for example,” I said. “YOU-nique’s message tells us that we are God’s very own works of art, giving the learner a greater sense of self-worth. And because MM deals with girls who have very low self-esteem that results in acting out in dangerous ways, then doing a project for MM would be a great mission project.” The publisher liked our idea and promised to give it consideration.

We left the publishing house and headed out to find Mercy Ministries. Though MM did not do tours on this particular day of the week, they listened to Cyndi’s heartfelt plea and relented. We were blown away by all they do to help not only enrich lives but to literally save the lives of these beautiful young women.

Before leaving the campus, Cyndi and I looked at each other and said almost in unison, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to come back here and lead these girls through the YOU-nique retreat?” What an awesome dream!

Fast forward 3 years and 3 months. Here we are again, my sister and I. We are in Nashville, TN, scheduled to visit Mercy Ministries tomorrow. Though the retreat-in-a-box idea did not become a reality, the study book YOU-nique: Embracing God’s Design for You did get published by another company! And Cyndi and I are scheduled to lead 17 MM counselors and program directors through it tomorrow. They will serve as a jury, so to speak, to decide if YOU-nique is something they could use for their small group counseling sessions in all their homes, both here in the US and abroad!

Cyndi and I had a dream over 3 years ago; we did nothing to bring it about. God remembered our dream and He worked it out far better and far faster than we could have ever imagined. By a miraculous chain of events that could have only been orchestrated by God Himself, we had the opportunity to meet Nancy Alcorn, the founder and president of Mercy Ministries. Less than 3 weeks after meeting Nancy, here we are, only a few hours away from a “longing fulfilled.”

This God of ours: isn’t He something?!

Not to us, O LORD, not to us

but to your name be the glory,

because of your love and faithfulness.

Pslam 115:1

September 23, 2009

Wimps in Giant Clothing

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,

but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty…”

1 Samuel 17:45

Giants. They’re everywhere. Problems that seem to have no answers. Enemies that seem larger than life. Deep, dark valleys that seem insurmountable. When facing a giant, look very closely: most giants are really just wimps in giant clothing.

Take Goliath, for example. A Philistine champion who stood 9 feet tall, Goliath was covered from head to foot in armor: a bronze helmet on his head, a 125-pound coat of scale armor on his body, and bronze graves on his legs. He held a spear as big as a weaver’s rod with a 15-pound point at the end, along with a bronze javelin slung on his back. And as if all that weren’t enough, a shield bearer stood before him. Pretty fierce presence, right? And it was working.

King Saul and all of the Israelites were dismayed and terrified at the sight and sound of Goliath. Each morning, the Israelites would take their battle positions and start shouting their war cry. While they were still shouting, Goliath would come out from the Philistine camp and defy the Israelite army, calling for Israel’s champion to come out and fight him one-on-one. And every morning Israel ran in great fear back to the camp. This went on for 40 days.

Enter a young shepherd boy named David, sent by his father to bring his 7 soldier-brothers some good home cooking. When David arrived, he couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. “What?” he asked. “Who is this guy that has the gall to defy the armies of the living God?” Reports of David’s comments reached King Saul. David appeared before the king and said, “Let no one lose heart. I’ll face the giant!”

Now get this picture: The average adult Israelite is less than 6 feet tall and David was just a young man, probably more like 5’7 or so. Goliath was over 9 feet tall! (Put a yardstick on top of your head to get an idea of the difference.) David was in simple shepherd clothing; Goliath was covered in armor. David had only his staff, 5 smooth stones, and a sling; Goliath had huge, heavy-duty weapons.

In spite of Goliath’s ferocious appearance and words, David knew he was just a wimp. What tipped him off? Even with all his massive size and weapons, Goliath never came out from behind his shield-bearer! Wherever Goliath went, his shield-bearer went before him. What a big chicken! What a wimp!

David understood wimpy giants; their bark is worse than their bite. While Goliath moved toward David spewing his venomous threats and taunts, David calmly and confidently replied, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty…This day the LORD will hand you over to me…for the battle is the LORD’S…” Then David “ran quickly toward the battle line,” took out his sling and stone, and “without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine…”

When facing a giant of any kind, you need more than just a war cry, just a bunch of windy words. You need faith. A simple, smooth stone flung in faith hits its mark every time. Why? Because “the battle is the LORD’S”!

So no matter what giant you come up against, respond to it like David did: Run right up to the battle line, look it right in the eye, and declare victory in the name of the LORD. More often than not, you’ll find that the giant is merely a Goliath — a wimp in giant clothing!

August 5, 2009

This, too, shall pass

My hip is hurting this morning after tripping over a box in the hall last night. My house seems to be riddled with booby traps these days since my son moved back home.

While going through a nasty divorce, he was laid off from work, his apartment lease ran out, and his dog (his child!) went missing. Physically drained, financially shaky, and emotionally bankrupt, he moved home to heal and to get a new start. After setting some ground rules, I encouraged him with his grandmother’s favorite saying, “Keep your chin up, honey, for this, too, shall pass.”

Whether it’s a son, a friend, or a coworker, sometimes the problems of others spill over into your own life. How do you deal with it? As a servant of Christ, how do you help troubled people remain functional and productive? How do you help without taking the burdens upon yourself?

Consider these four suggestions for handling this ticklish task:

Determine the extent of your help. Whether it’s giving them space, getting a group to provide assistance, or referring them to counseling, be careful to help and not to hinder. Too little help can create more problems; too much help can actually prevent them from coping. The trick is to find the balance and that requires planning.

Specify the lifetime of the arrangement. For example, set a time limit on how long you should provide assistance. Deadlines may not work in all settings; however, setting some guidelines helps keep the person’s focus on finding solutions.

Spell out expectations. In other words, discuss your plan of action with this person. Be specific on what you expect of him or her, what you are willing to do, and how others will be allowed to help.

Communicate diligently. Talk regularly about their progress. Focus on whether or not the help you’re providing is achieving its purpose. Make adjustments as necessary.

Sometimes we have to make adjustments in order to help others get through rough times. The key is doing enough to resolve the problems without doing too much and prolonging them.

As for my son, he’s gotten a job, is registered for school, and is smiling again. My prodigal has come home and the fatted calf is on the grill. So what if my grocery bill has doubled? So what if my dining room has been converted into a bedroom? So what if the corner hutch that used to house my antique crystal is now home to his boxers, tees, and socks? He’s worth it. Besides…this, too, shall pass.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed…For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:8, 17)