Shaken

Since I’ve spent the majority of my life living in California, I’m pretty used to earthquakes. I know what it is like for the pictures to begin shaking, the earth to begin rolling, and the momentary calculation of wondering how long it’s going to last. I can quickly figure out where the nearest door jam is, and have perfected the maneuver to protect my neck should things start falling. Because of all this, an earthquake very rarely rattles my nerves. In fact, I’ve been known to sleep through many of them, much to the chagrin of my sister who would succeed in waking me up right as they ended.

However, despite my relative calm, earthquakes are not something to be taken lightly. Due to the recent earthquake in Japan, we are all well too familiar with the damage and destruction that they can cause. Not only do buildings and roadways cease to hold their form, but even the land itself reportedly moved as a result of the recent quake. It takes a very strong force to literally adjust the landscape of our globe and yet an earthquake can do that.

Unlike the layout of the Earth, however, our God has promised that His kingdom is unshakable. There is no force that can cause Him to move or that will alter His plans. The world around us may crumble, yet He is a strong tower that the righteous may run into and be safe.  He will not buckle under force, nor does He sway with the currents or tremble at evil; He remains.

And because of this, regardless of the rattle and rolling that our lives may be experiencing, we need too, need not be shaken.

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Bring The Rain

(I’ve been doing a little mini-series on trials. Sometimes these mini-series are unplanned and just happen because of what God has placed on my heart. Hopefully for those who are going through trials, you’ve found them encouraging. For those who aren’t, I hope they’ve been encouraging to you as well. :))

I’ve lived in Southern California for over 25 years now and I still marvel at the weather.  It’s a wonderful gift that we can wait for sunshine to go grocery shopping, because if it’s inclement today in all likelihood it won’t be tomorrow. Recently, however, we’ve had a spate of storms. These storms weren’t just “big for Southern California” – they unleashed a bucket load of rain that would impress a mid-westerner. And while I enjoy an occasional downpour as much as the next person, sometime around the 6th day straight of rain, I was over it. Just like the refrain in the child’s lullaby, I was wishing for the rain, rain to go away (and was really hoping it didn’t come back another day.)

Sometimes, however, the rain lasts much longer than we think we can endure. This is true of the drops that fall from the sky and the storms that we face in life. However, in their song “Bring the Rain,” MercyMe gives us a different perspective to consider when our lives are caught in a downpour. They sing:

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

Did you catch that? Instead of asking God to take away the rain, they ask Him to bring it – if it brings Him glory. I know people who pray to avoid painful situations, and those that pray to have pain removed, but to tell God in advance that you are o.k. with the heartache if that through it, His goodness is shown takes a faith and a confidence that is rarely seen.

As I’ve written previously, I don’t think we need to go looking for pain. However, I do think we need to offer everything to God, even our comfort and contentedness if through it, His goodness can be put on display.

May our hearts increasingly be not only willing to endure what life brings, but may we offer up whatever God needs to use even if it means some rain.

 

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